Sonata Arctica's Reviews
Silence (Average Rating: 9.34 out of 10)
Another great album from Finland's finest! (Rated this album with 10 out of 10)
Reviewed by
the_wickerman
from Purgatory
After buying the debut album "Ecliptica", and being immensely impressed by it, I was eager to get more albums from this band. So, finally, I get around to buying this one, the brand new sophomore effort from Sonata Arctica. Wow! Another great one! It seems that SA is going to be another Iced Earth, and put out one perfect album after another. I'm not yet sure how this compares to the debut, but it's definitely more epic. There are tons of great songs, and a fairly strong degree of variety. You've got fast-paced rockers like "Weballergy" and "Land of the Free", and great ballads like "Last Drop Falls" and "Tallulah".
One song in particular really stuck with me. That song is "The End of this Chapter". It's a ballad about a guy who is apparently stalking a woman he is in love with. The lyrics are downright spinechilling, and oddly touching. We often forget that these kinds of situations are not simply two-sided, a victim and a freak, it's often more complex than that. The person has feelings and desires that he can't deal with, and it pretty much drives him insane. I was amazed at how well this song captured the essence of that in just a few minutes. Anyway, moving on. Tony Kakko (they finally included their last names) is an amazing vocalist with tremendous range. He seems to be phasing out his accent more here than on the debut, which is a great improvement, and his lyrics have improved as well. For once, he's conveying emotion effectively, instead of almost coming off as cheesy (due in part, I'm sure, to his becoming more comfortable with English). That's the great thing about this band, they are one of the few power metal bands that write meaningful, touching lyrics, instead of just songs about dragons and stuff (which isn't bad, it's just sort of one-dimensional). On top of that, they're all top-notch musicians. Jani's solos are very fast and melodic, sort of a combination of Joe Satriani and Yngwie Malmsteen. Tommy Portimo is one of the great drummers, up there with Mike Portnoy and Neil Peart. The bass is still lost in the mix, but oh well. The album ends in a 10-minute epic, "The Power of One". The is an excellent track, with really cool lyrics. All in all, a great album, one I can't wait to listen to over and over. Great musicianship, great lyrics, and very cool packaging. A must-have.Also, I have to say this: Stop comparing this band to Stratovarius! That band is very overrated (see my friend Lord Chimp's review of "Destiny"), and SA is far more talented and far more intelligent than that band ever has and ever will be. Period!
Buy this album on Amazon at $14.99
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