Customer Reviews

Reckoning Night

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sonata Arctica is one of those Finnish bands that have been causing quite the stir in the metal scene. When one thinks of the best performers of Power Metal, they are among the first to come up in the same sentence as Nightwish and EdGuy. Now distributed in the USA by Nuclear Blast, they have returned with the CD "Reckoning Night". For this release I admit that I expected a little more. I had found their previous release "Winterheart's Guild" to be a work of metal genius. It is very good, but does not seem to possess the intensity that I found on the other release. The 10 tracks I found go between very heavy and fast to your almost sing along-able type of track. Sonata often has the variety in their CD's. The lineup is Tony Kakko (vocals), Jani Liimatainen (guitars), Tommy Portimo (drums), Marko Paasikoski (bass), and Henrik Klingenberg (keyboards). Fans of the technical side will enjoy how the members of Sonata play off of one another during the songs.

The production does not seem to be as in your face as I would have liked it to be or that has been on previous releases. The band however is in top notch form on their playing and vocal harmonies. The best tracks to experience this is during "Misplaced" and "Wildfire". There are a couple of potential singles also on the CD, such as "Don't Say A Word" and "My Selene". My favorite tracks thusfar would have to be "White Pearl, Black Oceans" and "Misplaced". There is a nice ballad called "Shamandalie", this will appeal to those who loved "A Letter To Dana" most specifically since it's the closest they come to this feel.

Clearly, Sonata Arctica is one of those groups that fans of the genre should be supporting. They make sure to give you a deftly crafted record on a regular basis and they have not yet become repetitive in it. You can also find them on various tributes. It's amazing how the European scene allows for these guys to do albums, tours and tributes on a regular basis, yet here in the States we wait 4 years between some releases by our favorite bands. Often suffering at the hands of a producer who has a better "vision" for the piece. If music keeps coming like this from the other side of the pond, I think I might move there.

Sonata Arctica has recently become one of my favourite bands. I had heard 'The Cage' and 'Blank File' in the past, and I liked them a lot. I was in Japan a couple of months ago and decided to buy a few albums, so I bought Ecliptica, Winterheart's Guild and this one, Reckoning Night. All are fantastic, but RN may just be my favourite.

Reckoning Night is slightly different to the other SA albums. It sees them using a little wider range of influences, throwing in a bit of heavy metal and hard rock to go with their already amazing power metal. This breathes life into their sound, not that it needed it though! Blinded No More is a good example of this new feel, and is a damn good song. Tony Kakko also uses his amazing voice to more effect on RN, just listen to the song Wildfire, with so many different vocal styles in it, the song just rules.

There is not one moment on this album I don't love, from the awesome opener Misplaced, to the single Don't Say a Word, to my personal favourites, Ain't Your Fairytale and White Pearl, Black Oceans... These songs take the cake for me due to the beautiful vocal melodies and harmonies. While these are present in pretty much every SA song, they are just truly amazing in these 2 songs.

Having said all this, Reckoning Night did actually take a while to grow on me. I don't know why, as it has all the ingredients that make Winterheart's and Ecliptica great plus more, but it seemed a lot different on first listen. This may put you off, but definitely listen to it more than once before you throw the album off as bad, it will grow on you!

PS, if you can, get the Japanese version with the bonus track Wrecking the Sphere on it, it is such a great song and just shows how much better the bonus tracks on Japanese releases are. The song is 7 minutes of sheer brilliance. Don't get the 2 minute acoustic jam hidden track mixed up as Wrecking the Sphere, its not! The hidden track is simply called 'Jam'.

If you've never listened to Sonata Arctica, understand that SA are storytellers. Every song is a story unto itself and honestly told like a story. Most bands make some songs which are tales of some kind or another; usually what you get, however, is "I lost my girl" or "I found a girl" or "I hate life."

Not exactly original.

Sonata Arctica's songs are vivid paintings of a fantastic nature; somehow in four to nine minutes they can give you a setting, some unnamed characters which they still manage to make you resonate with, and a satisfying (if not always happy) conclusion. On this album, for example:

*Ain't Your Fairytale - Told from the perspective of wolves who must fight to maintain their world against the growing threat of men.
*Don't Say a Word - A man obsessed with his love takes it to very creepy extremes.
*Wildfire - A boy, cast out and reviled by a town for the deeds of his father, takes his revenge by condemning the people to a horrible doom in the flames of his hate.
*White Pearl, Black Oceans - Their masterpiece. Of all the songs they've done, this is easily the most epic in its scope (at least to me). A lighthouse-keeper, always alone, ventures into town on New Year's Eve and subsequently suffers a heartbreaking series of events that shatter him.

Technically they are precise and inventive on Reckoning Night; lyrically, as I've said, this is the most accomplished of their work. If there's a complaint to be had about their work it's that their English is flawed (they're a Finnish band), although I doubt it'll bother you unless you're an English major.

Also, though it has nothing to do with the music - Reckoning Night has some of the best artwork in its packaging that I've ever seen. If you like the album's cover you'll like the rest of it.

I purchased this album because my friend thought Sonata Arctica was the greatest band he'd ever heard. When I bought this album and I listened to it, it literally blew me away. Unlike the current wave of metal which consists of fast guitars and screaming lyrics, Sonata Arctica uses an actual singer and they can play music. This is one of the few albums is new metal where every track is really good. Don't Say a Word was the song that really got me into them but when I heard Wildfire, I thought it was the best song on the album. My Selene and White Pearl, Black Oceans are my other two favorites but the other songs are great too.

Track Listing

1. Misplaced
2. Blinded No More
3. Ain't Your Fairytale
4. Reckoning Day Reckoning Night
5. Don't Say A Word
6. Boy Who Wanted To Be A Real Puppet
7. My Selene
8. Wildfire
9. White Pearl Black Oceans
10. Shamandalie

I'm not exactly sure why but my version of the album contains a bonus track called Wrecking the Sphere. If you enjoy this album Ecliptica is another great album by them. This is one album that you'll wan to listen to again and again and I highly recommend it for any people who like progressive metal.

Sonata Arctica has been in heaven since "Ecliptica" (2000) They've been mastering their skills and their music since then, with Silence, their live album Songs in Silence: Live In Tokyo, and Winterheart's Guild. Some felt disappointed by the "change in this album" But if you analize the album well you discover the change was for good, more musicianship and more feeling.

1.Misplaced: I find this opening extreme, some powerful guitar riffs, very catchy lyrics (I've never had a chance, I can't understand, I'm a misplaced man)

2. Blinded No More: This song's just magnificient. With a heavy beginning, transforming into a tranquil song with Tony Kakko's voice at its max. Excellent

3. Ain't Your Fairytale: The Wolf Song! - The ones who seek justice, will pray for it all their lives -
As always, Sonata excels in fast songs, this was not the exception, some great work in the keyboard solo and in the doble bombo drumming.

4. Reckoning Day, Reckoning Night: The introduction to a much better Don't Say a Word, this beautiful piano melody will take you to a Dreamland, Close your eyes and enjoy the trip,p until you open them to an astonishing "Don't Say a Word"

5. Don't Say A Word: Well my friends, this is it, one of the best songs in the album, very powerful guitars, great melody, catchy lyrics, and Kakko's voice excels at shouting - My mother said, my son! Do the noble thing, Always finish what you started...etc. - Magnificent.

6. The Boy who wanted to be a Real Puppet: I know this as a Pinochio Parody, I disliked this song at first, but on time it grew on me, very good lyrics.

7. My Selene: Was the first song written by the guitarrist able to fit into the album? The answer is: Yes, It Was.
My Selene is a romantic song, succeding "The End of This Chapter" From "Silence" And the return of "Evenfall" I like the keyboarding in here

8. Wildfire: The CRAZIEST song in the album, and I mean it!! This song is a jewel, I love it. The intro is epic (Burn it...burn it all...) Transforming into a heavy melody, in which Tony Kakko's vocals excel. Crazy Heart Pounding solos, fast and powerful.

9. White Pearl, Black Oceans: This is it my friends, the song that brought tears to my eyes, White Pearl Black Oceans.
You guys know that Sonata Arctica is all about writting lyrics that are able to touch your heart, this is no excepcion.
It starts with some beautiful chorus, such like "Divine Wings of Tragedy" from Symphony X.
Telling the story of a lightkeeper that fell in love with a girl in the town. This girl was about to travel in a ship called "The White Pearl".
The lightkeeper didn't turn on the lights in his light tower, so in night, the ship crashed into a coastal reef, all aboard died. All the persons in the town blame him, and he starts to repent himself with an effort of suicide (Black Oceans Beneath shall now swallow me)
Maybe my summary is not touching, but read the lyrics, listen the song, and you will heed this words:
This is one of the best epics ever written, In terms of lyrics and musicianship.

10. Shamandalie: The "Depressing song" The album ends with a tranquil song, talking about a lost love, his best friend.
Very Pretty Song, there is excellent piano work and some acoustics. - Can we ever have what we had then?? Friendship Unbreakable -

Sonata changed, but changed for good. People that don't like this album maybe are people that are obsessioned with Sonata's Stratovarius - like - style of playing.
Sonata has developed a unique way to play power metal, and this my friends, could be considered the album of the year.

White Pearls, BLack oceans is an amazing epic. This whole album is full of beautiful melodies , vocals , and tastefully done piano. Yes this is prog power metal , but its not wankish or over the top. I listen to mostly Death metal, but these guys get constant play In my stereo. Wildfire is awesome. I dont know if its as good as Ecliptica but is even with Silence and Winterhearts guild. All their albums are amazing. This band does not recycle anything, the bring forth new ideas to stay fresh every album. Big choirs and multiple styled vocalls appear throught out the album. Amazing buy it now. Along with Dark Tranquility's new CHARACTER these should be your first two metal purchases of the year.

This band brings depth, quality, and skill to the table for our enjoyment. They can go fast, like Dragonforce, but they also know how to make a ballad. I prefer their harder stuff though, but don't have to skip tracks because it is all very good. Sometimes you can hear Tony Kakko's Finnish accent, but it does not detract from the music in my opinion. I have Ecliptica and Winterheart's Guild (in addition to Reckoning Night) and they are also worth getting. If you like Sonata Arctica's style, make sure you pick up all 3 titles that I mentioned. They are very satisfying.

To begin with, I concur with those who have reviewed this album and who say that if you loved 'Ecliptica' you may not like this one; and indeed, if generic power metal (ala Freedom Call) is your thing, you may not like 'Reckoning Night'. However, for those of us who appreciate innovation and are familiar with a wide variety of metal genres, this album is nothing short of incredible. This is in my Top 10 of all time...

Here is a rundown:

1. Misplaced (5/5) Fast, powerful (but no dragons! Sorry dorks)
2. Blinded No More (5/5) Hard rock... SA can do it all
3. Ain't Your Fairytale (5/5) Power Metal at its finest
4. Reckoning Day/Reckoning Night (4/5) Instrumental
5. Don't Say a Word (5/5) The best chorus I've heard in years
6. Boy Who Wanted to be a Real Puppet (5/5) Queen harmonies!
7. My Selene (4/5) Would have been more at home their last CD
8. Wildfire (3/5) A bit disorganized, sounds unfinished
9. White Pearl Black Oceans (5/5) epic!
10. Shamandalie (4/5) Not as good as the ballads from 'Silence'

In short, this is as good as melodic heavy metal gets. It may take a few listens to get used to (it did for me), but it is worth it. Buy this album!

The reason for the title of this review is because I only have the first half of the album (as of 2/20/05). I'm currently buying and downloading the songs one by precious one from the iTunes store and so far this album is more impressive to me than their album <u>Silence</u>, which I couldn't stop listening to before this. I will amend this review or post another one after I get the chance to get the rest of the album, but anyways, here's my rundown:

The first track, "Misplaced", is simply put as Awesome! I couldn't stop listening to this, particularly because the lyrics tell of how we all feel out of place sometimes in the lives we live. In answer to a previous review/question by Andres Soto Morales, yes the band actually starts the song, then abruptly stops, then continues, depicting a "misplaced" feeling IMHO. If you listen to the track at sufficient volume, you can hear one or two of the instrument's background noise going thru the noise gate just a split-second before they start up again. This song reminds me of some of the better songs by Stratovarius, but even better still! I love the classic power metal feel they put into the chorus section... made me want to swing a broadsword around! The second track, "Blinded No More", is pretty cool, but in wild contrast to "Misplaced", as far as the general feeling goes. More power, half the speed. Took a little getting used to, but very likable, and probably IMO the most commercial sounding track on the album (so far!). "Ain't Your Fairytale" picks up the speed considerably and continues the power metal feel of "Misplaced", and is just as likable! "Reckoning Day, Reckoning Night" is a feel-good piano/synth instrumental piece that soon turns melancholy and serves as the segué into "Don't Say A Word", a slamming song with powerful lyrics and music to match. It's a song taken from the point of view of a man who's found out that his significant other has cheated on him. Rather than using clichéd lyrics and moods we hear so many times in pop-rock and metal, they bring fresh lyrical ideas and sonic feeling to the subject. I won't spoil it here... you'll have to listen for yourself!

(March 12th, 2005) Got the rest of the album, again through iTunes, so here's the rest of my review. After "Don't Say A Word" comes the mischevious "The Boy Who Wanted To Be A Real Puppet". This song on a purely music theory perspective, is my favorie on the album because they do something I normally see very few bands in any metal genre do... they play the WHOLE song in (I do believe it's) a waltz-y 3/4 time signature! It's also a very ingenious twist on the Pinoccio fable. "My Selene" is another epic-sounding piece, with lyrics pleading for a forlorn love and a very straightforward double-on, double-off rhythm, and is also a big favorite of mine. In contrast, "Wildfire" (which I'm listening to as I write this), is my least favorite, but it may please listeners who want a ferocious-sounding frenetic off-the-wall piece. It's impressive from a musical perspective, as the musicians seem to have gone nuts with ideas on this one, but I have to be in a crazy or pissed-off mood to enjoy it. "White Pearl, Black Oceans" is a great epic of a song. Just under nine minutes long (the longest song on the album), it's a sad tale of a man in charge of a lighthouse and the consequences of forgetting one's responsibilities. Simply put, it's a gem of a song (just listen to that chorus!!) and yet another favorite of mine. After this comes "Shamandalie", a wonderful closing to an awesome album. Starting with piano and acoustic guitar, it quickly builds to a rousing finish and piano ending and is probably the closest thing to a power ballad on the whole album. I should point out that I didn't get "Wrecking The Sphere" with the rest of the album, since I'm not a fan of studio outtakes, but from what I've heard from bits and pieces, it sounds good for anyone who wants to hear a band being silly in the studio (hey, everyone needs to let their hair down on occasion!).

Well, that's all that I have for this review. I hope it was informative enough to get people to buy into this extremely talented Finnish band _{(many good new metal acts are coming out of Finland... hmmmm)}. Thanks for reading this, and thanks to the iTunes store for finally getting some music that I'll actually buy!!) :P

These guys are simply afire with energy and style...

Every song on this album is excellently crafted, with the one exception being the rather predictable and mediocre "My Selene", who's melody is just too listener-friendly for me. They really seem to have two different styles within the album -- the incredibly fast romp of a rocker ("Misplaced", "Wildfire", "Don't Say a Word", "Ain't Your Fairytale"), and the more ballad-driven song, such as "Blinded No More" and "Shamandalie". The interesting thing with these guys -- and I guess a lot of metal bands -- is that while the faster stuff is probably why we keep returning to them, they write some GREAT ballads, which are totally capable of evoking emotion, beauty, and romance... "Shamandalie" is just simply beautiful to me, and I've listened to it on repeat over and over several times.... Musically and lyrically, they really know how to hit the heart as well as the adrenaline glands.

Anyway, this album is a totally wicked listen, as I mentioned packed with a bursting energy that is so ever cool. My favorite tracks would probably be the aforementioned "Shamandalie", but even more so probably "Wildfire", which is a stunning riot of a track, absolutely blistering, and the epic "White Pearl Black Oceans...", which sort of gels together the softer aspects of Sonata's music with the driving stylings... The memorable chorus works on both levels.

Overall if you are a fan of power metal, energy, or melody this is going to be a very very likeable album.

Four and a half... I only hesitate to give it a 5 because I am anal about that, and am really selective... Blind Guardian's "Nightfall in Middle Earth" and "A Night at the Opera" are two I'd personally award five.