Sonata Arctica

Winterheart's Wild

9/10 - Sonata returns with a darker, more aggressive sound

Review Score:

(10/10)
As originally written (by me) for RoyalCarnage.com:

Finnish melodic metallers return with Winterheart's Guild, their third effort, and perhaps their strongest to date. All their hooks are in place, their ducks in a row, SONATA ARCTICA seems more determined than ever before this go `round, as if they truly have something to prove, something to impress upon the casual listener.

Songs like "The Cage," "Silver Tongue," or album opener "Abandoned..." demonstrate that SONATA ARCTICA haven't lost even the slightest edge, and are all deliciously strong rockers in the true power metal fashion. "The Misery" harkens back to 1989, when the power ballad ruled. It's not going too far out on a limb to draw a comparison to THE SCORPIONS at this point; I hear so much in SONATA ARCTICA that allows them to transcend just being a "metal" band, much like the SCORPIONS were able to broaden their appeal to encompass a greatly varied audience. SONATA ARCTICA has that same ability. Then take a song like "Gravenimage," which seduces you with a delicate intro, the listener hanging on every syllable to weep forth from lead singer Tony Kakko's mouth, before exploding in your face like a thoroughbred bursting from the starting gate. In fact, now would probably be a decent time to mention Kakko's impeccable vocal performance. Longtime fans of SONATA ARCTICA already realize that very few are in Kakko's league when it comes to pipes. It might be hard to believe, but they're even stronger on this album, soaring powerfully over the incendiary guitars, rapid-fire drumming and majestic keyboards. But unlike the 1st two albums, Kakko's range on this new one is tremendous; he has truly matured into one of the great vocalists of our time. Perhaps even more impressive is that while the band was searching the music world for a new keyboardist (to replace the departed Mikko Harkin), Kakko himself went back to tickle the ivories as he did on their debut album, and once again, the result is astonishing! STRATOVARIUS keyboardist Jens Johansson guest solos on a few tracks, but Kakko's keyboards are absolutely enchanting, occasionally jumping to the forefront and combining with the guitars to create full, rich melodies, and occasionally remaining in the background to enhance the already deep soundscape.

SONATA'S debut album, Ecliptica, was marked by blistering rockers and sentimental, emotional balladry. Their follow-up, Silence, continued along this vein, but didn't quite match up to the sonic fury of the original. Winterheart's Guild takes a darker route, but the end result is spectacular, mixing and matching the best elements of their previous two albums into a single gratifying listening experience. While not a perfect album, the seeds are in place for SONATA ARCTICA to join the power metal "A-list." If you haven't yet checked this band out, and are looking for a stellar addition to your melodic metal collection, look no further than this.

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