Sonata Arctica

Silence

Near perfection

Review Score:

(10/10)
Quite simply one of the best "melodic power metal" albums ever released. Building on the styles of bands like Helloween, Gamma Ray, and Stratovarious, S.A. takes it up several notches, delivering a brilliant mixture of clean-tinged (and, might I add, quite beautiful) melodies and double-bass-driven rockers. Both the guitarist and keyboardist are phenomenal players, yet at no point do they allow their "shredding" tradeoffs to attempt to overshadow the overall strength of the songs. Good, heavy bass and drums, and excellent vocals, too, especially when they go for the multi-layered choruses.

My only problem with this album is that some of the lyrics sound a little silly: "Walking in the cold night air in your underwear" always gets a little chuckle from me. But other than that, this album is sheer, utter brilliance. Personal favorite is definitely "The End Of This Chapter," but every track is superb.

More Reviews: