If you run through the first two pages of this forum, you would find another Sonata Arctica review. That one was about "Silence", the second album of the Finns, and, gosh, that was a long time ago!
The bands new effort, "Winterhearts Guild", is about to hit the shelves in a few days time, but promos are already out and, hell yeah, I got one!
Most of you know my style of writing the reviews - a whole bunch of information, all at once in four paragraphs all together. But this time Im going to surprise you all and write (surprise-surprise!) a track-by-track review. Because, dear friends and neighbours, "Winterhearts Guild" is worth it!
But before I do that, a couple of words about the general picture. The legend says that Sonata Arctica once was a power-pop band. There are heaps of bands like that and its pretty typical that Sonata (or whatever they were called back then) didnt succeed. So one bright morning (or stormy winter night) Tony Kakko felt pessimistic and decided to "sell out". The scheme for "selling out" was simple: "Well do it the Stratovarius way!" Tony said and immediately reconstructed the bands style. What came out in result was an explosive mix of Power Metal, Helloween-line Speed and the same old Pet Shop Boys. Funny, youd say? Well, not quite as funny as it seems.
1. "Abandoned, Pleased, Brainwashed, Exploited" - a traditional "Timo-Tolkki-Kiss-My-Ass" type of song. Fast, melodic, with typical choirs and never-ending double kick. One of the things about "Guild" is that its more progressive and complicated than both previous releases. Yes, Sonata did it before, but then the complex songs took around 10 minutes to fit all the parts in. This time its less than 6 minutes with 4 different parts in it. Strange.
2. "Gravenimage" kicks off with the keyboard passage, which (KILL ME!) reminds of the "Braveheart" main theme. The song itself is almost a ballad, slowly turning in a mid-tempo killer. Once again the best regards and warm wishes are sent to "The Power Of One" from "Silence". At the same time, "The Power " was a little more multisided. "Gravenimage" is quite boring. Plus the main verse explores the same move Sonata Arctica did on "Black Sheep".
3. The first time I heard "The Cage", I thought Tony have decided to make a Stratovarius cover. Listen to "Hunting High and Low" or "Eagleheart" and youll know what Im Tolkki-ng about (huh, good one!
). Its more Stratovarius than Stratovarius themselves. On the other hand, the chorus is totally beautiful, which probably makes it a good song.4. "Silver Tongue" is a typical Sonata Arctica. If youre familiar with the topic - you know what I mean. The guys have been doing this kind of stuff since the first album, so I wont bother explaining.
5. The beautiful ballad "The Misery" once again proves the genius of the Finns. Its very gentle, with almost pop melodies and totally "I-wanna-see-your-fuckin-lighters" attitude. Stadium Metal, if there is such thing as "Stadium Metal" these days. Actually, this is another reason why I love Sonata so much: while all the other Power Metal bands think that the "True Metal" is all about "Swords & Magic" (in this case capital "S" and "M"; you know, "S&M" kinda bands), Sonata Arctica are more "down to earth" lyric-wise. They talk about things most of us have experienced in real life. Sorry, but I havent seen any dragons for quite a while now.
6. "Victorias Secret" is "The Cage" clone. It has almost the same melody, but at the same time - wonderful keyboard work and a very catchy melody. Soon youll find yourself singing it in the shower, I promise. The bad thing: I got a promo CD in a cardboard cover. Anyone who can tell me what Victorias secret actually is will be generously rewarded with lollies.
7. "Champaign Bath" is one of the pearls of the album. Very fast guitars and absolutely unexpected moves here and there. Beautiful!
8. "Broken" is similar to what the band did on "Replica" and "Sing In Silence". Same gentle mid-tempo, but a little less original. Everythings fine, but somethings missing. Hard to explain.
9. "Ruins Of My Life" is another fast track. Although I really like the band, the track is worth skipping. Sad.
10. And finally "Draw Me". A "farewell-ballad" to conclude the album. The song lasts for just a little over 4 minutes, although the track goes for almost 10 minutes. Another minute or so after the music ends is filled with some dialogue in Finnish, the rest is SILENCE. Boring, extremely UNoriginal, total "D-" for creativity.
At the end of the day, it a good album. Im sure, those who enjoyed the previous Sonata Arctica releases will enjoy "Winterhearts Guild". But I have a strong suspicion that Tony Kakko and his mates are loosing something. Its still one of the most multisided and interesting bands around, but Im afraid sometime soon we may catch an advertisement in "Finland Today" which says: "Urgently! Fresh ideas needed!"
7/10
