Maximum Metal Rating Legend
5 Excellent - Masterpiece. A classic.
4.5-4 Great - Almost perfect records but there's probably a lacking.
3.5 Good - Most of the record is good, but there may be some filler.
3 Average - Some good songs, some bad ones at about a half/half ratio.
2.5-2 Fair - Worth a listen, but best obtained by collectors.
1.5-1 Bad - Major problems with music, lyrics, production, etc.
0 Terrible - Waste of your life and time.

Note: Reviews are graded from 0-5, anything higher or not showing is from our old style. Scores, however, do not reveal the important features. The written review that accompanies the ratings is the best source of information regarding the music on our site. Reviewing is opinionated, not a qualitative science, so scores are personal to the reviewer and could reflect anything from being technically brilliant to gloriously cheesy fun.

Demos and independent releases get some slack since the bands are often spent broke supporting themselves and trying to improve. Major releases usually have big financial backing, so they may be judged by a heavier hand. All scores can be eventually adjusted up or down by comparison of subsequent releases by the same band. We attempt to keep biases out of reviews and be advocates of the consumer without the undo influence of any band, label, management, promoter, etc.

The best way to determine how much you may like certain music is to listen to it yourself.
Band
Sonata Arctica
Title
Reckoning Night
Type
LP/EP
Company
Nuclear Blast
YOR
2005
Style
Progressive
1/24/2005 - Review by: Ken Pierce
Sonata Arctica “Reckoning Night” Nuclear Blast USA 2004 --Ken Pierce

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. The Boy Who Wanted To Be A Real Puppet
7. My Selene
8. Wildfire
9. White Pearl Black Oceans
10. Shamandalie
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 thus far 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.

Rating: 7.5/10

Sonata Arctica Website: http://www.sonataarctica.info

--Ken Pierce 01.25.05
  • 1 :REVIEW COUNT
    N/A :AVE RATING

ALL REVIEWS FOR: SONATA ARCTICA
TITLE
DOR
COMPANY
REVIEWER DATE MADE RATING
Reckoning Night
2005
Nuclear Blast
Ken Pierce1/24/2005
-
Stones Grow Her Name
2012
Nuclear Blast
Greg Watson5/12/2012
1.5
Unia
2007
Nuclear Blast
Vinaya Saksena4/25/2008
3

ALL INTERVIEWS FOR: SONATA ARCTICA
INTERVIEW INTERVIEWER DATE TAGLINE


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