1999 was quite a year for Sonata Arctica: they recorded the ‘Full Moon’ demo that brought them to the attention of Spinefarm, changed the band name from Tricky Beans, and having signed a deal also released their debut album, ‘Ecliptica’. The line-up back then was Tony Kakko (vocals and keyboards), Jani Liimatainen (guitars), Janne Kivilahti (bass) and Tommy Portimo (drums), and not only were they raw and new in the studio, the production wasn’t all that it might have been. Over the years since then the band have morphed, and have become quite a force in the power and symphonic metal scenes, and as they approached the fifteenth anniversary they started wondering about re-recording the debut, with the current line-up.
Tommy and Tony are the only ones who have stayed the course, and they have been joined now by Elias Viljanen (guitars), Pasi Kauppinen (bass) and Henrik Klingenberg (keyboards). They have approached this recording with the confidence that only comes from years on the road: this certainly doesn’t sound as if it has its roots in an album from 1999, but instead is fresh and bright, powerful and restrained, in the way that only they and possibly Stratovarius at their peak really know how to achieve. When it is time to shred then they can do that quite happily, putting together blistering runs on all instruments, tied together as one, but they can also be reflective and gentle. Tony’s voice is even better now than it was in his youth, and he has the experience of knowing now exactly what works for him and what doesn’t, so if he wants to sing in a different key from the original then that is just fine and dandy. Sonata Arctica continue to be one of the finest bands in this field.
