Sonata Artica: Ecliptica (1999)

Silence, Sonata Arctica's sophomore full-length album, probably ranks as one of my favorite power metal albums of all time.  I do not have any kind of true list, but it is one that I come back to again and again.  Unfortunately, I have only been able to track down a couple of other albums from the band, Unia and Stones Grow Her Name, neither of which come even close to the quality of Silence, particularly the latter album which was a massive disappointment.  I figured if I wanted something close to the sound of Silence I should go for albums closer temporally.  And so, as soon as I could find the debut for a reasonable price (and not the re-recorded version which is almost certainly terrible), I decided to go for it.

Sonata Arctica is a highly melodic power metal band from Finland whose songs often tell interesting stories that can often be heart-wrenching.  Their focus is on crafting strong melodies rather than aggression and use powerful vocals and frequent piano/keyboards to supplement the guitar riffs.  Silence caught my attention mostly through some of the high octane songs like "Wolf & Raven" and "False News Travels Fast" and the keyboard-driven "Black Sheep".  That was what I was looking for in delving into this release.

This album is a lot closer to what I was looking for in an album by Sonata Arctica.  It is a very good example of European power metal.  Sure it is cheesy as hell and there is a reason that European power metal is derogatively referred to as "flower metal".  The album is bright and cheery-sounding most of the time, though with a few of the heart-breaking ballads, such as "Letter to Dana", that caught my attention in the other album.  Most of the songs are still fast-paced with wailing vocals, strong melodies and infectious hooks.

Sonata Arctica were still clearly finding themselves with this album.  A lot of the elements present in Silence are here, but it is a work in progress.  The songs are generally shorter, and as a result, the album is shorter too.  The band utilizes the neoclassical keyboard runs and traditional metal riffs.  Tony Kakko's stunning vocals are on full display as well.  All of those elements would become a part of the band's sound that made their next album so great, but they are just not as fleshed out here.  And there is no song that quite reaches the extreme speed of the great songs from the next album.  Not to say there are not some faster tracks, just not to the same extent.  Closing track "Destruction Preventer" definitely has moments where it comes close to the speed of "Wolf & Raven" though.

But despite these differences, this is a truly epic debut album.  It is an incredibly strong example of European power metal done right.  It comes close to the majesty of the follow-up album and if I had heard this one first, I would have been even more blown away by it.  Just because the band improved on the formulas found here, absolutely does not mean that this is inferior.