Clear Cold Beyond

Sonata Arctica is certainly an interesting band when you take their entire career into consideration. Long story short, a very good Stratovarius-ian power metal band expanded their horizons messing with different soundscapes, then they came back to power metal with a renewed approach… to varying extents, before hitting a weird sort of stadium rock sound in Talviyo. Definitely one of the more varied and interesting careers for a metal band, even if not the best in terms of actual quality – there’s no guff in saying the first four albums are the best, and the first six songs off of Unia promised a spectacular if different album, but the rest… ehh, they’re different, I’ll give them that. Some interesting subtle soundscapes, compounded with the inability to really go anywhere with them. The Ninth Hour and Talviyo were nothing if not particularly frustrating albums that’s like trying to get a straight answer out of the cute shy girl you’re trying to chat up.

Well, when Clear Cold Beyond was first announced, that announcement came packaged with the single “First in Line” and boy fucking howdy, this song was – and still is – a hoot and a fuckin’ half! It’s the kind of song that could only be made through coming back to their sound after an extended period of experimentation. At its core is this fast, double bass-heavy structuring with keyboards galore, creating a happy go-lucky energetic vibe that’s just so damn infectious. At a basic level, the overarching melodies couldn’t be anymore power metal without Tommy Portimo playing that one drumming pattern Ingo Schwichtenberg made famous over 35 years ago. But what gives the song that added edge are the subtle melodicisms that characterized the last couple of albums. The overall mystical vibe that the keyboards provide are like the secret ingredient that makes the sauce on your chicken parmigiana that extra bit delicious, really generating hype for this then-upcoming album – no matter how cold Sonata Arctica had left you.

From there, it would seem like Clear Cold Beyond is a righteous comeback – and the following single, “A Monster Only You Can’t See”, falls more into the experimental camp with its more unconventional melodies while maintaining that power metal energy, assuring the listener that they’re fuckin’ back! Hell, when I first listened to this album, that was definitely the case! The aforementioned mixtures of power metal and prog metal the way Sonata Arctica know how stuck out like a David Blaine-styled magic show, and the music created from this mixture produced these infectious riffs and vocal melodies accentuated by truly magical keyboard melodies. There’s just this addictive quality to how they executed it. A song like “California” has this massive power metal energy – especially during the chorus – that’s as infectious as the common cold. Same thing for the more theatrically-inclined “Angel Defiled”. Hell, the outright melancholic “Clear Cold Beyond” manages to succeed here due to its bitter, heartfelt vocal melodies and the drearier instrumentation. It just seems like we got ourselves a real winner here, with a lot of outright fuckin’ power metal mixed with their inventive style of composition.

Ultimately, it’s the little things that keep this album from achieving greatness. The run from “Shah Mat” to “Cure for Everything” sound like they’re this one killer motif or standout moment away from being lost material from 20 years ago. The ultra-fast Europower stylings tickle the nostalgia glands satisfactorily, but that’s about all that stands out about those tracks. The biggest comparison is between “Dark Empath” from here and “Broken” from Winterheart’s Guild. especially given their thumping mid-paced drum-and-guitar melodies and mystical keyboard melodies simultaneously conjuring up an otherworldly atmosphere. But “Dark Empath” doesn’t ride its melody like it means it – certainly not compared to “Broken” – instead, leaning more on playing for time, just hoping for something massive to happen.

But okay, a trio of solid at best songs that don’t even compare to the first two songs – no biggie, the rest of the album is still fuckin’ tops, right? For the most part, sure! The latter half of the album leans further towards their proggier sound, especially “A Monster Only You Can’t See”. The songs aren’t quite as fast, but they’re certainly more involved melodically with more moving pieces and whatnot creating more vivid melodies. A song like “Angel Defiled”, for instance, maintains that Europower base at a glance with its double bass and palm mutes, but the keybords add a neat texture to the riffs, the vocal melodies merrily jig and the refrains of the turbo-catchy intro melody provide a hearty chorus. Ironically, in pulling off this kind of compromise, they manage to pen and play some rather compelling material that elevates what they’d been doing for the past couple of albums.

It also better suits Tony’s vocals these days. Old mate’s not what he was 20 years ago as he opts for a more subdued and ethereal vocal inflection throughout. In conjunction with the airier production, it all gives songs like the more subdued “The Best Things” or melancholic “Clear Cold Beyond” the spice that makes them tick. But the spice is not enough without the more purposeful compositions that guide them towards more impacting melodies that add to that emotional weight. Thankfully, that’s the case, and that’s why the second half of the album, plus the first two songs, showcase (to varying degrees) a legitimate comeback for Sonata Arctica to power metal. But not just any comeback – certainly not in the typical “returning to our roots” way. Essentially, after having stepped back from their sound for a long fucking time (with the exception of 2014’s Pariah’s Child which, itself, does err quite a bit closer to power metal with pastiches of the three albums before it), they’ve then parsed through what they could implement from their proggier/rockier era to their old sort of Europower sound.

Like with too many other bands, I haven't followed Sonata Arctica for a considerable time now. While 2009's "The Days of Grays" featured some of the band's strongest melodies, they'd already begun veering a bit too far away from their power metal route with 2007's more pseudo-proggy "Unia". And the newer stuff seemed to be somewhat of an alternation between more experimenting in the same direction, and, on the other hand, more classic rock-based songwriting. As far as I understand, their previous LP was an attempt at making a downright stadium hard rock album, and it had, apparently, not gone down well.

Anyway, they're back. Back, as in largely back in the style of those first four albums which tend to be any band's most revered ones. At least it seems that's how "The Clear Cold Beyond" has been marketed. However, we're dealing more with a split-LP kinda deal: Side 1 contains the bulk of the band's traditional power metal elements, and side 2 contains the bulk of that curious mix of more experimental and more classic rock-oriented material from their last 15-20 years.

Interestingly, perhaps, I prefer side 2. Granted, we're off to a wonderful start with opener and first single "First in Line", melodic uptempo as we know and love framing a melody that manages to be wistful and grandiose at the same time – never hysterical like some other power metal bands. And, aw yeah, baby: Follow-up "California" is even faster. However, not many minutes pass by before the band's millstone shows itself. Songwriting-wise, vocalist and mastermind Tony Kakko has always tended to bite off a bit more than he can chew, which often entails a lot of irregular tonal key deviations and modulations galore – often too many for the songs' own good.

Some of the melodies feel like ongoing runs of sixteenth notes with no necessary relation to the previous ones; going out the other ear as soon as they enter one. While the uptempo drive is infectious, there are simply too many variations and too few hooks for me to not lose a bit of engagement along the way.

Side 2, then, features the most memorable highlights. The bombastic, almost polka-like "Angel Defiled" features a harpsichord theme in muscly surroundings sounding like an old Soviet drinking song. The vocal lines are metrically consistent, the melody tangible – and it's a welcome pleasure. This also goes for the slow, tender "The Best Things", sounding like one of the more heartfelt moments on "The Days of Grays". This is the level of creative dynamics we're dealing with here. "Teardrops", not the best song, but probably the most original one, is based on a triplet meter, but the drums are playing in fours, both half and normal time. And here's also a little harpsichord theme, only this time elusive and whimsical.

And then there's "A Monster Only You Can See", starting like a slow, clean waltz, but crescendoing into a gigantic, axe-chopping 6/4 stadium banger with immense drums and choirs, sounding like newer Avantasia on a good day. With those chorus breaks and neat little lead themes, this is the one that's gonna be stuck in your head. And it might even have been the superior tune this time around, had it not been for this tiny, but fatal lyrical misstep...

Friends are near
We are here
We still carry all those
Things you believed in
ASSHOLE!
We have bent the rules
We have lied
Loved and known, you'll rise again
Friends will do all this for you

Yeah, notice that? You got this gigantic tune in one of the most captivating and easiest recognizable songs on the entire album, and there's that ONE dumb word outta left field detracting way too much from the whole thing. I'm not the only one who's gotten thrown off by this, and this is not the first review in which I have to address how detrimental awkward lyrics can be.

Anyway. On the whole, there's a lot of creativity going on here. And I'll gladly be among the first ones to applaud the fact that SA are looking back to the material that put them on big stages in the first place. So overall, while Tony Kakko might retrieve a significant part of SA's lost potential by streamlining his melodies not the least of all, it's impossible to end up with anything short of a good album here. In fact, a bit better than that.


Originally published at https://www.GlobalMetalBlog.com

Finnish veterans Sonata Arctica return with a new record, Clear Cold Beyond, the first proper studio album containing all-new material since 2019’s Talviyö. Touted as a “return to power metal roots”, Clear Cold Beyond attracted immediate interest from fans, eager to see the Finns veer towards heavier and faster material, which abounded on the band’s early albums such as 1999’s Ecliptica and 2001’s Silence, but became somewhat scarcer in subsequent releases. Even those early records, however, contained atypical moments, incorporating disparate influences, from the pomp of arena rock to the somber and melancholic atmospheres of gothic rock/metal. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that on Clear Cold Beyond there is much more than just straight- to-the-bone power metal, but also plenty of pop-flavored slow tempo ballads as well as detours into proggy theatrical rock.

There are three types of songs on the album. The anticipated power metal tracks come early on in the tracklist (“First in Line”, “California”, “Cure for Everything”). Fast as lightning, simple in structure and arrangements, yet exquisitely melodic, these songs will appeal to fans of old-school European power metal in the vein of Stratovarius, Helloween and Gamma Ray. Although they are fun to listen to and some of the chorus melodies did stick in my head for days, I tend to prefer the slightly more offbeat material that is also present on the album. Songs like “Dark Empath”, “A Monster Only You Can't See”, or “Angel Defiled” toy with Broadwayesque influences, by virtue of Tony Kakko’s intentionally over-the-top, theatrical vocal lines and the superb use of choirs, as well as hints of progressive rock in the more elaborate structures and vintage keyboard sounds. The music here evokes a strange hybrid between Queen and Helloween – perhaps landing not too far from the territory that German cult prog metal band Rough Silk were exploring in the late 1990s. The remaining tracks can be broadly categorized as ballads (“Teardrops”, “The Best Things”, “Clear Cold Beyond”). The tempo slows down, the piano takes centre stage and so does Kakko’s emotional vocal delivery. These songs are all clustered in the second half of the album, which gives a somewhat understated (and weak) close to the record.

Graced by a clean - if somewhat thin - production, Clear Cold Beyond is a good album – fun to listen to, well-written, and with enough variety in its tracklist to keep the listener engaged from start to finish. The replay value is good as well, as the more offbeat songs take a while to sink in while the more immediate, hook-laden tracks are always a pleasure to return to. Having said that, in the bigger scheme of things Clear Cold Beyond won’t change how Sonata Arctica will be reminded in the metal annals, simply because it does not add much to what the band have already showed us throughout their career. But the new record works great as a reminder of Tony Kakko’s great songwriting talent and quirky ear for song development and melody – which may not be to everyone’s taste, but is also what made Sonata Arctica stand out in the power metal scene - since those very early late 1990s albums.

The consistent debate in metal as long as I’ve listened has always been about bands returning to their original sound - so many people, it seems, always really hate it when a band changes style. And then when bands do return to their old sounds the results can vary.

The thing with Sonata Arctica is that they’ve always just kinda been this collection of paradoxes. I’ve never been let down by anything they’ve done, largely due to the strengths of singer/songwriter Tony Kakko - he has a way of constructing vocal melodies that anchor whole songs and are like nothing else I ever heard. And everything he does always feels so personal and real - this is a style of music that can feel candified and sugary-sweet, but Sonata, for whatever eccentricities, always came off like they were saying something hugely important to them. What would feel kitsch coming from a less creative act instead felt incredibly earnest and raw.

Yet at the same time a lot of their albums end up feeling like they don’t have a lot of direction... some of them, like Stones Grow Her Name and Talviyo can feel like hodge-podges of ideas, and the band’s direction goes all over the map from album to album like a drunk driver losing control on the road. They seem to just do whatever springs to mind at the moment. It’s often endearing just because I enjoy not knowing what the hell we’ll get next. The band’s classics are still there and I would’ve been bored if they’d just done endless repeats of Reckoning Night for the last 20 years instead.

Now with Clear Cold Beyond we DO pretty much have a return to the roots - this is very consciously an effort to borrow elements of all their early albums, from the wintery, colorful keyboard runs, faster tempos and the kind of jaunty, Maiden-on-a-sugar-rush songwriting style that they often totally left behind on some recent albums. At its best it’s a smooth, energizing sound, the equivalent of a cool drink of water after a scorcher of a day - cool, beautiful melodicism, skipping along like a rock on a lake-top. “Cure for Everything” is the best one, a sweet blast of melody, enhanced by some nifty layered vocals that sound sort of like a barbershop quartet. But single “First in Line” has an infectious hook, too, and “California” has a lot of character.

Further songs like “A Monster Only You Can’t See” and “Teardrops” have a more mid-tempo character, and “Shah Mat” sounds like something off of Unia with less layering on everything - but ultimately all of their old albums were really varied, too, and so this one is in keeping with their classics even when it diverges from the speedsters. The keyboard sound and brighter, more uptempo mood make all the difference. It’s the most fun they’ve sounded in years.

There’s something of a weird effect this album has, though. Somehow this one was more jarring to me than any of their other weird experiments. Weirdly by going back to the roots they surprised me more than any other time. It’s almost like an uncanny valley thing, hearing the older version of the band forcibly trying to sound like their younger selves. The melodies are bright and addictive, but you get the feeling it’s like you stepped into some alternate universe listening to this.

The songs have a peculiarly weightless feel - while this was never a really heavy band, this new album sees the band reinterpreting the classic sound in this way that’s like everything is made of clouds, everything played ultra feathery and light even for their standards. There’s just a lack of heft to it that they always used to have. It’s an odd effect. Not really bad, but it does leave me wanting something, somehow…

Tony Kakko has one of my favorite voices in metal - both his voice itself and the inimitable way he sings. That said, it does seem like the strain is starting to show. A lot of the stuff on here is catchy as fuck, as always, but he seems to really be straining to try and sing like he’s 20 again. Sometimes it sounds like he’s been smoking a pack a day. I think the best moments come when he keeps to the lower registers. It creates an interesting contrast with the happy melodies, anyway. The title track here is the most like their more recent albums - a slow, ponderous, yearning piece with minimalistic, ominous soundscapes - and that’s the one where he sounds the most comfortable singing on this whole album.

So if it seems like I’m sort of conflicted on this album it’s because I am - it’s a strange one even for them. Old school fans will be pleased, but I did find this a weird listen. But it’s so catchy I’ll probably keep playing it for a long time anyway. Don't take the rating here to mean anything on how I compare it to their other albums... but you gotta have some number for the Archives, so there it is.

Clear Cold Beyond is already the fourteenth full length effort by Finnish experimental power metal quintet Sonata Arctica, if you count Ecliptica - Revisited (15th Anniversary Edition) as well as Acoustic Adventures (Volume One) and Acoustic Adventures (Volume Two). The band itself and many critics and fans alike claimed this record to be a return to the band's roots. In my opinion, Clear Cold Beyond can't compete with the perfection of Ecliptica or the excellence of Silence. It might perhaps be on the level of Winterheart's Guilt and Reckoning Night. While such a statement might sound encouraging to some fans, I estimate those two albums to be among the group's most boring, repetitive and uninspiring ones. It should thus not come as a surprise that I might rate Clear Cold Beyond the band's weakest output since Stones Grow Her Name a dozen years ago. Clear Cold Beyond isn't utterly bad but its quality is overall meandering with significant highs and lows which makes for an overall unsatisfactory listening experience.

Let's start the analysis of this release on a positive note. It features an overall detailed, energetic and warm production that blends in very well. The songwriting indeed focuses more on the group's power metal roots than previous outputs that have been more eclectic. Several of these songs transmit an atmosphere of conviction, freshness and liberty. Notable highlights are powerful opener ''First in Line'' and up-tempo anthem ''California''. interestingly, the band's more experimental songs such as atmospheric experimental tune ''Shah Mat'', dark epic ''A Monster Only You Can't See'' and diversified, epic and thunderous deep cut ''Angel Defiled''.

Now, let's talk about the record's downsides. The record significantly loses steam in its second half and features many lengths. Several songs rehash songwriting ideas of yore such as ''Dark Empath'' that recalls a weak mixture of ''The End of This Chapter'' and ''Caleb''. This depressive stalker tune just fails to surprise in this day and age. This record also includes a few cheesy ballads with the worst offender being the slow-paced keyboard-driven lullaby ''The Best Things''. Closing title track ''Clear Cold Beyond'' clocks in at half the length of previous band epics and also offers half the quality since the song plods along unspectacularly, sounds absolutely lifeless and fails to leave any lasting impression.

The record's digipak version includes two more underwhelming songs. ''A Ballad for the Broken'' is indeed a half-hearted ballad that can't compare to the band's previous masterpieces in the same genre such as ''Replica'', ''Letter to Dana'' and ''Last Drop Falls'' that have been oozing with atmosphere, creativity and energy. Cover song ''Toy Soldiers'' by Martika is an outstanding tune in its original version but Sonata Arctica fails to achieve the same feelings of despair, urgency and worry. Even Eminem who is still the world's greatest rapper in my book has achieved a much better result sampling this song in the outstanding ''Like Toy Soldiers'' that was on the pulse of time upon release and has aged magnificently.

In general, I have learnt to be slightly apprehensive when bands announce a return to their roots. Morbid Angel has delivered one of its worst records when claiming to do so with Kingdoms Disdained. In Flames have released the worst album of its career in my book when attempting to do so on Foregone. Sonata Arctica's Clear Cold Beyond isn't as bad but only qualifies as slightly above average output after a series of creative, inspired and unique albums that might have divided the masses but that have left almost nobody cold. This new record however does exactly that to me.

After many, too many years away from the purely power metal scene, Tony Kakko & co. return promising all fans disappointed by the really poor productions of the last 10-12 years that they have found new (or old) blood to give us a new album in the wake of the first three masterpieces. With eager anticipation I finally got to the first listen of the album and...what can I say? It is a good mix of what Sonata used to be (a great band) and what they have been for 15 years now (not a great band).
Kakko's promise was probably a pandering move to draw attention to the long-awaited new record. Expectations unfortunately were not fully met, although partially we can, with pleasure, listen again that nice, fast and melodic power of the early 2000s.

The start is a bang: a blast of classic old-school power metal, with a wonderful interweaving of guitar and keyboard; fast and melodic. Powerful riffs and keyboard parts, always pounding drums. Little power/speed gems are present in the middle of the record too, with excellent vocal lines and solos. We return with pleasure to the best fast songs of Winterheart's Guild or "Ain't Your Fairytale" and "Weballergy" or "The Cage." The keyboard intro of "Shah Mat" is reminiscent of the main theme of the movie "Profondo Rosso," which gives way to a nice chorus and again to a fast but more cadenced and prog rhythm, like the following prog-soaked semi-ballads, utterly forgettable, although they have good keyboard and guitar passages. We can listen something darker too, a dull prog-rock/mid-tempo, in the style of "Broken". The last two songs are the album's ballads, light years away from the old masterpieces such as "Tallulah," "Last Drop Falls" and "The Misery." The first one turns out to be listenable, however, the latter is an unbearable 6-minute whine that closes in the worst way an album that is at times very good, but also poor in appeal. Nothing to object to the quality of sound and the well-established musical ability of our friends from Kemi, but we have to be honest and say that Tony Kakko's creative streak ran out almost completely with "Reckoning Night," 20 years ago.

In conclusion, a long-awaited comeback, but it's a comeback with a half-smile; not a throw-away record, certainly solid gold compared to the albums of the last 10 years, but not a great return to basics either as promised. "Clear Cold Beyond" is just a decent hybrid. I, meanwhile, go back to listening to "Silence."

Best songs: "First in Lane", "California", "Cure For Everything", ""Angel Defiled"
Worst songs: "Dark Empath", "A Monster Only You Can't See", "The Best Things", ""Clear Cold Beyond"

Sonata Arctica is back with the new album Clear Cold Beyond. An album that promised to have a power metal sound back. This decision was due to the band realizing that many fans of the band were already tired of being disappointed with slow, boring and unenergetic albums. And boy, indeed they were. For example, their previous album Talviyo, except for a couple of songs, is really forgettable and uninspired. But this changed, starting with this album Clear Cold Beyond.

Among the positive aspects of the album, we can highlight the good implementation of many power metal elements that they did in their first albums, which are very present in songs like First in Line, California, Shah Mat, Cure for Everything, and Angel Defiled. These elements are mainly fast, double bass drums, virtuosic keyboards during the guitar riffs, fast and energetic guitar/keyboard solos, and epic melodic choruses. Even mid-tempo songs like Dark Empath and A Monster Only You Can't See have some of these elements present, which reminds us of those albums of yesteryear like Winterheart's Guild, which had part time fast and mid-tempo songs but consistent in their style and intention. Another very high point of the album is the ballad The Best Things, very beautiful and well presented.

Among the negative aspects of the album, we can mention two aspects. One: there are filler songs, like Teardrops, which doesn't convince me even though it can be listenable, and especially Clear Cold Beyond, the song that ends the album. I don't know why there was a need to put a song that boring and uninspired at the end of the album. Not only is it boring, it's ugly. That key change in the chorus, it's just horrible and very random. Two: the rest of the songs, despite having the very well presented power metal elements that characterized them in their best albums, are not masterpieces either. They are much more decent than what they have delivered in the last 3 albums, but they are still missing something.

In conclusion, we have a more than decent album. It's not the best of comebacks, but it's a good one and that's very appreciated. If you are a fan of Sonata Arctica and have lost hope for it, maybe you can regain it with this album, because it has catchy and interesting material to offer. Just don't expect this album to be an Ecliptica or a Silence because it's not at that level. My rating for this album is a 7.8 out of 10.

If I had to highlight the best songs, they would undoubtedly be First in Line, Angel Defiled, The Best Things, Cure for Everything and A Monster Only You Can't See. It seems that the wolf is howling again.

It is well known, and I've gone through it more extensively in the review for the first single of this album First in Line, but I will reiterate that Sonata Arctica has more or less been lost in the Finnish wilderness since maybe the time of their album Reckoning Night. And this primarily is in the specificity of power metal, namely the fast and melodic power metal that cemented the band's place in power metal history on their first 3-4 albums. The style was non-apologetic, fast, Strato-fueled, and at times neoclassical with walls of tasteful keyboards, brief but memorable and tricky solos, the bass drum rattling away into oblivion, and of course a rigid formula of pure power. Of course there were ballads sprinkled in, but good ones, and as the whole package of Sonata Arctica was a memorable one.

They then deviated from the formula, consistently putting out albums that were good but not great, and flirting with their canonical sound at times, but only ever really teasing and disappointing their fanbase that had been there from the beginning (I joined at Silence). The rerecordings of Ecliptica or songs here and there appearing on later albums simply served to frustrate fans of the band. And the band also seemed incapable of zeroing-in on this reality. One can presume Talviyö wasn't necessarily a barn-burning success for the band, and overall there wasn't much momentum and steam coming out of this band when the single First in Line dropped.

Seemingly out of nowhere the band was back but the question had to be begged: Is it a return to form? No, but this is as close as they have gotten yet.

By my count there are 4 power metal burners that could have been on the first 3 albums, a few ballads that fit on any Sonata Arctica album, a couple other tracks that could have been on Reckoning Night, and then only a couple more that are modern Sonata experimentation. The production for the most part recalls the glory days, the drum triggers are clear and crisp, walls of interesting keyboard sounds; it is a bit down on guitar power as guitarist Elias has seemingly retired from shredding. There is shredding here, but it doesn't really have a profound effect on the album like Jani's on the first few. To cap it off, Tony sounds as good as ever; still reaching a bit in the lyrical department but a few of the songs get the power and excitement going.

As far as the real highlights go it would be the fast power metal numbers that invoke the true essence of the band. This includes the high-flying opener that I've gone on a diatribe on for the review of it as a single, it is fast, melodic, heartwarming, classic Sonata Arctica. One cannot help but to "air drum" to these songs; sometimes you don't need to be Aquiles Priester, bless his heart; but the Jörg Michael and Tommy Portimo method of simple, easy to follow beat-downs of their kits is what air-drumming dreams are made of.

As for my favorite track, it would be the aforementioned one or the similarly-paced Cure for Everything which is the album's power track. It has a neoclassical sound with the organ and Beethoven-esque chord bombast. They throw the kitchen sink at this one, great keyboards, a little quirky djent riff, a quintessential feel-good SA pre chorus, and following with a dramatic chorus. The middle section of the song is melodic and catchy, exactly the delivery you would expect even with some fretboard acrobatics. California is another speeder that has a touch more of the Reckoning Night feel of a song like Misplaced but also could have found its way on the album previous. Bouncy rhythms, arpeggiated melodies, and a traditionally melodic chorus. Shah Mat is a slow-burner, but an even-keeled power track that sounds again like a Reckoning Night anthem. Don't know what the choirs are singing, it's a touch more vacuous than the glorious Latin that has peppered power metal of old; but almost sounds stripped out of an Angra song, like tribal chants. Angel Defiled is a bouncier track that also could have found its way onto Reckoning Night.

There are three ballads and all three are quite different. The Best Things is the classic Sonata Arctica power ballad. A happy, uplifting ballad that checks all the boxes. It reminds me of a lot of Freedom Call songs with a hymnlike glorious delivery. Teardrops is a ballady powerish track that kind of doesn't fit a category; maybe a heavier more disjointed version of The Best Things, but it is decent, a grower, one of the songs here that maybe would not have fit on one of the early albums.

The title track is the final ballad, and it is more of a dark and atmospheric track. Again one that is not traditional in its sound. It is kind of spaced out and proggy; a kind of slow bum ending to the album which needed another blast of energy in the closing moments, instead there is an odd little outtake from Tony that is just odd. This isn't the worst track in the world, it just doesn't fit the back-to-the roots style of the record. And like I said, most of the fast power metal tracks are top-heavy on the album, leaving the later half to be filled with experimental tracks and ballads which does trudge down the album slightly.

Of the other songs on the back half there is the pop-inspired Dark Empath, it's a catchy tune, but can't say a Sonata Arctica original, even has a bit of Lady Gaga melody which is just wrong. And A Monster Only You Can't See, which is a quirky happy song that lacks any type of glorious power or meekness, it is rather unhumble and tiresome in the lyrical department. It will get stuck in your head, but it is also creepy and makes you feel a bit icky when it's on. Definitely more of an experimental tune. Unfortunately I checked out the bonus track and it is yes another ballad instead of a speeder, perhaps showing that Tony at this point was still not able to go "all-in". It is another pretty decent ballad, clearly Tony can write ballads, no need for any more proving there... The cover track is also a ballad, and while Sonata Arctica has some great pop covers of 80s songs like Wind Beneath My Wings, turning them into glorious power metal; this is not as inspiring or transformative.

The album does check a lot of boxes that the band needed. Over half of the album is tried and true Sonata Arctica. That is a win. The fact that the album is disjointed and top heavy hurts it, as does the insistence the band still has for experimentation. This album should be viewed as a triumph for the band though. It is clear they had a desire to return to form, and I think unless the fans are cold hearted monsters they will embrace the band after this one. I think my review score might be slightly inflated when you compare this album to the first 3 but in today's bleak era or power metal a higher number has to equate to something when Sonata Arctica is still managing to wipe the floor with the likes of Sabaton, Dragonforce, or Twilight Force while not being on their ultimate "A-Game". We shall see where they go from here.

At the end of the day it is a good power metal record, won’t set the world on fire, but it is important for these legacy bands to produce material more like this to fill the massive void in power metal left by all of the gimmicky-themed cheesy bands that dominate the market nowadays. There is another old power metal band that totally flopped at doing that this year so give Sonata a ton of credit. If labels like Atomic Fire Records can catch wind of my drift then we will be headed in the right direction and a renaissance of the genre can begin. There is no smoke without fire and Sonata Arctica may have ignited something here despite their previous blunders and fan attacks, and just like a phoenix we can rise and be forgiven for our mistakes.

If you want to reminisce on the good old days of of the glory era of power metal check out First in Line and Cure for Everything as the album's standouts.

Ever since 2007 when the world has changed forever for a Sonata Arctica fan, the hope and the subsequent disappointment engulfed us with every new release, it looked as if the amazing times of getting a super melodic, ballsy, symphonic power metal were gone for good. Sure, we have been promised of a new start, of a „return to form” several times throughout the years but that just did not want to materialize, or they did just for 1-2 songs per album.

Fast-forward to 2023, me being absent from all kinds of BS social apps and such, got hit with the First in Line single out of the blue. To me that song didn’t just sound like a return to form endeavour but rather a showcase of an „in-form”. A lost tape from (let’s say) album 3. It was badass, energetic, like the 20 years had been just erased. Now the new album is here and I had like a blast from the past type of 50 minutes listening session.

So it starts with the already analyzed First in Line, but then the pace keeps going on: the second song is still a fast power metal, with even faster bpm than First in Line. The chorus is a bit lackluster though but the whole song is still alright. Tony’s voice here saves all. I appreciate highly that he is really singing; not rapping, not going for drama-queen vocals, just plain old power metal vocals, that we used to hear from him. Nor are there 50 layers of him stacked together: just one main clean track and 1-2 harmony lines. Exactly how it should be.

And the train doesn’t stop here, the third song is again a fast paced rush. Three old school Sonata tracks after each other. This can not be real. When we get to the fourth song, only then we get the first mid tempo song, Dark Empath that also saw the light of day as a single. Honestly, as a single, it did not work for me, in fact, it made me cautious again not to be excited about the album. But here, after 3 speeding tracks it feels fresh and well placed. The chorus is unusual with its bendy melody pattern but still it can stick in your ear. Having been listening the album on Spotify, without lyrics, what I could decipher, makes me feel, this Dark Empath song belongs to the The End of this Chapter-Don’t say a Word-Caleb-Juliet saga. There seems to be some stalker type lyrics here again. This Tony guy starts to be suspicious...

Then we are back to probably the best song on the album, Cure for Everything. If First in Line was the twin brother to The Rest of the Sun Belongs to Me, then this Cure for Everything is the sibling of the masterful The Ruins of My Life. This one has heart and massive energy, it flows naturally. Don’t know whether this is because I deliberately want to witness and hear this, but it really looks like this composition was made with enthusiasm. Doesn’t sound like a fan service, or something forced by the recording company. The lyrics do baffle me though with lines like ”let go off the lines you cannot sing”, ”sing out all the songs you’re holding in”, ”learning all the songs you cannot sing” is this some sort of a self mocking, I don’ t know. Nevertheless Elias rips one badass solo in the middle of the song. This is a crown jewel track.

The Monster Only You Can’t See is a song with mixed slow-mid-fast(ish) tempo, with a bit annoying chorus reminiscent to Champaign Bath. The lyrics however seem to be pointed against the old school fans? So now I don’t get this at all. We’ve got a full power metal album but there is a song with ambiguous lyrics about us ”assholes” not understanding them not wanting to play whatever the old fans like. Either it’s a really messed up duality or I don’t get their meaning.

Teardrops has a Gravenimage style sad atmosphere enveloped into a mid tempo song, even it has the same reverb’d piano sound at the end like Gravenimage. The singing here sounds emotional, heartfelt, yet metal enough. Would be really good to know what has gotten into Tony, but maybe shouldn’t inquire about this, lest he gets upset and changes again. There is no ballad/slow song in the traditional sense, instead there is a piece called The Best Things. This might remind the listener to Shamandalie. This tune stands out with its super melodic chorus, and especially with its main melody standing in as an unconventional riff progression under the chorus. It is this simple; we just want these cool, straightforward metal songs with big melodies from Sonata, not some quirky progrock uncategorizable mess.

Who would have though this day would come; our favorite Finns would revisit their young selves to compose a real power metal album. The sound mixing is also totally spot on, and lo, no marvel, it was done by the legendary Mikko Karmila in Finnvox, as it was in the old times. Listened to it while working, while driving and just having it on in the background; in all cases the songs deliver, some evidently stand out even. Possibly the more straightforward structures, the lack of pseudo-progressive approach makes the melodies work. All gears fall in place seemingly. As an original fan that got hooked on the band in 2000 I would like to forget all that’s happened after Reckoning Night up until 2024. Wishing though this would not be just a one-off stop for Sonata, and they would keep on doing albums like these.

I will say with reluctance but also with joy nevertheless that Sonata Arctica is back as a power metal powerhouse (for now. We'll see how long they keep it up). The title is rather generic as far as Sonata Arctica names go, which is partly why I was hesitant to get my hopes up, but don't let that fool you, I guess. The band's previous album, "Talviyo", seems to be considered the worst in the style they had been running for a decade or so (I'm not sure what to call it), maybe their worst ever. As much as I wanted to like it, I gotta mostly agree so this new album is definitely a step up. When I say Sonata Arctica is back I don't mean a return to form as much as they have a new style (see the next paragraph for more on that) that sounds pretty good. Even went back and listened to some songs from "The Ninth Hour" and "Stones Grow Her Name" then came back to "Clear Cold Beyond" to make sure I wasn't crazy. The songs definitely move a lot better here than the aforementioned records.

The question everyone asked leading up to this album (thanks to the singles) was, "Will they return to form? Will they do straight power metal again?" If I had to answer that based on my listening, I'd say no to a return to form (If "Silence" and "Winterheart's Guild" is what you're expecting) but a yes on a return to power metal because there are plenty of fast songs here which is nice (more on that later). Some might wish for a return to the exact style of their first three albums, which are certainly power metal classics and still their best work, but I doubt that's possible, even if they brought back Jani Liimatainen. The truth about "Clear Cold Beyond", however, is that it's a blend of all the (mostly) good aspects of the 'eras' of the band. A chunk of the "Ecliptica"-"Winterheart's Guild" era, some "Reckoning Night" - "Days of Greys" era, and some of whatever "Stones Grow Her Name" - "Talviyo" was supposed to be. Now, maybe my standards for newer metal music have been lowered after lamenting over the current state of power metal for so long, but I'm just happy to hear something that doesn't sound like pop music in metal's clothing. (Looking at you, joke/gimmick power metal bands over at Napalm Records!) (Allow me to clarify that there's nothing wrong with having pop influences, my complaints begin when elements of metal music are sacrificed to bring in elements of pop music, usually to appeal to casual listeners or non-metal fans. Sonata Arctica is an example of a band that most would agree did this correctly.)

The fast songs on this album are my favorites. There are certainly pieces of their first few albums here but "First In Line" is really the only track that truly feels like a throwback to that era. With this they've forged a new beautiful and powerful style for the band that makes my metal heart 'do a happy'. There's a Hansen-esque flair to them which is always pleasant. You can never go wrong with looking to Helloween for inspiration, the way I see it. I'd say Sonata Arctica does best when playing at a fast tempo with plenty of 16th note double bass kicks.

I don't want to knock the slower songs right off the bat, but that fact is they're very much like what they've been doing for the past decade or so and I didn't get into them as much as the fast songs. They weren't bad, don't get me wrong, but I feel an inclination to disregard them. If I had to pick a favorite out of these, "The Best Things" comes to mind. Otherwise, I think they'd be better off doing mostly fast songs. That being said, they're certainly still hanging onto that phase and it's not my favorite thing in the world.

I'd gladly choose this album over all other recent power metal releases from prominent bands. What can I say? Power metal is what I like and it's what I got. Might not put it up there with Helloween's 2021 self-titled as far as power metal albums this decade so far goes, but it's pretty good and I'll be happy to wear a t-shirt with the band logo and album art on it, I guess. I'd give it more praise in retrospect if more bands that have turned away from their speed metal/neoclassical roots begin using them again like "Clear Cold Beyond", where I'd credit it in setting the precedent for that to happen. Favorite tracks are "First In Line" and "Cure For Everything".

Sonata Arctica returned to their power metal roots? Again? I thought they already did that 10 years ago with Pariah's Child.

Alas, the only thing you can predict about Sonata Arctica is that they will always be unpredictable. The band seemingly loves to ping pong between their classic power metal material and more progressive/experimental stuff. I personally don't mind which style they choose, so long as they do it well.

I've enjoyed all of their albums (even panned ones like Stones and Ninth Hour) up until Talviyo, which I found really boring and underwhelming beyond a few okay tracks. That album really made me question if I had simply outgrown the band.

But here they are with a "return to their power metal roots" that will surely win back all of their fans, including me. Honestly, this approach has had me more skeptical about this new album. Has the band returned to their roots out of a genuine interest to return, or are they simply appealing to oldschool fans in a cheap attempt for reapproval? The only way to decide is to see how the music itself holds up.

Most of the album certainly sounds like classic Sonata Arctica power metal. All of the recognizable elements are here, and the songs are enjoyable in the moment, but for the most part, there's nothing about them that is particularly memorable or hooks the listener like the classics. None of the choruses hit you right in the heart the way "Abandoned, Pleased..." or "Ain’t Your Fairytale" could. None of these songs are even "Rise a Night" level.

That may just sound like I'm making comparisons just to be negative and uncharitable to these songs, so I want to clarify I don't think any of these songs are bad. It's just underwhelming when they bring nothing new to the table and just rehash the old stuff with less energy and creativity.

I at least want to point out some tracks I found to be highlights. "Dark Empath" is a great track showing they can still pull off their slower, progressive style pretty well (as does the title track). The lyrics are dark and tragic in classic Sonata Arctica fashion. "A Monster Only You Can't See" is pretty goofy with its cheerful tone and guitar runs, but I can't help but enjoy it. "Angel Defiled" is the best classic-style song on this album. They keyboards give this song a unique dance feel, and the solos are possibly the single best part of the album.

Maybe this album will grow on me and I'll feel stupid for ragging on it so much in this review. But as it stands this album is a fun novelty at best, but one that has very little to leave me with beyond this passing moment.

Edit: Already starting to feel I was a bit harsh, though not by that much. First in Line is a lot catchier than I initially gave it credit for, and I can see Cure for Everything growing on me. I raised the score a bit, but I think that's as high as it will go