Songs of Silence - Live in Tokyo

My best advice to newcomers to the metal scene would be to ignore those who claim to be veteran fans and praise the eighties as the greatest decade of all time. Insufferable boomers with closed minds who hate any recent subgenre such as kawaii metal, nu metal, industrial metal and groove metal tend to describe creative power metal bands such as Sonata Arctica as flower metal or sometimes even use despicably homophobic slang to disgrace these bands that I certainly don't want to quote. The truth is that Sonata Arctica has released incredibly creative, emotional and energetic power metal albums, extended plays and singles in the beginning of its career that have stood the test of time for twenty years and counting. Some of those intolerable conservatives will claim that releasing a live album after only a few records is completely pointless while they probably have five expensive vinyl releases of Maiden Japan at home which already makes their point moot right from the start. As a matter of fact, Songs of Silence - Live in Tokyo shows Sonata Arctica in absolutely outstanding form and is highly entertaining from start to finish, no matter if you've picked up the international version with thirteen tunes or the Japanese double-disc featuring sixteen live songs and one studio recording. Some naysayers might point at this album and complain about the artificial look, failing to understand that the computer-generated style actually honours Japanese video game, manga and anime culture in a fitting way. Cultivated music aficionado, please read on!

Here are the elements that make this record stand out. First and foremost, this live album has an authentic, gritty and powerful production. The songs sound energetic, heavy and loud and while some of the cheers from the crowd might have been mixed a little bit louder to add some oomph, this release includes missed notes by the vocalist, slightly sloppy guitar sounds or the occasional missed beat by the rhythm section. Few live records make you feel as if you were standing right in front of the stage, just between the band that is playing its hearts out and the enthusiastic crowd that is getting louder with every single song. This live album is the real deal in this regard, so crank up the volume, let your neighbours enjoy the show as well and bang your heads relentlessly.

Up next, the Japanese crowd is absolutely outstanding. Every comment by Tony Kakko is greeted with applause, cheers and screams. The band's rhythm section is often accompanied by clapping and yelling. The catchiest choruses are sung along brilliantly even though most fans might rather attempt phonetical interpretations of what they are hearing than actually understanding the meaning behind all the lyrics. It doesn't really matter though because this enthusiastic crowd pushes the band to outperform itself and offer its best recorded live performance ever. It's certainly no coincidence that many Western bands actually record live albums in Japan because the fans from the empire of the rising sun give it all they have got and treat artists with much respect for offering an hour or two of welcome escapism from the challenging everyday life.

One also has to point out the band's excellent performance. Sonata Arctica's early material includes quite a few high-speed power metal tunes that take no prisoners. The band's drummer nails the fast-paced environmental anthem ''Respect the Wilderness'' so ferociously that you can't sit still as a listener and want to hit the repeat button right after the song's gripping conclusion. This song alone has more energy than some entire so-called extreme metal records. Flower metal? Try thunder metal because this song is going to blow you away! Another outstanding example for the fast, liberating and precise stamina of the drummer is closing up-tempo anthem ''Wolf & Raven''. Most drummers would feel much too exhausted to play such a pitiless tune at the very end of the show in a packed small location thousands of miles from home but Tommy Portimo nails this tune as if he had just come from a relaxed break from the sauna. Needless to say that this gentleman is one of the greatest drummers in the genre and thus also one of the most underrated ones in the entire metal scene.

Even metal fans often tend to overlook bassists if they are not band leaders and songwriters like Steve Harris. Marko Paasikoski however deserves much attention here. He manages to build excellent transitions between the drum play and the guitar play. In the faster sections, the bass guitar follows the drum patterns, adding to the energy, speed and volume of the overall band sound. In the calm or mid-paced moments however, the bass guitar grooves in the background while letting the lead guitar play its melodies, thus providing the rhythms for the fans to cheer, clap and move their hands. Poetically speaking, the bass guitar is the soul that keeps the different components of the band stuck together. All hail to thee!

Up next, one has to point out the aforementioned guitar play. It's hard to believe that the band only has one guitar player with Jani Liimatainen. He plays as many different techniques as three guitar players combined in Iron Maiden! He plays the rhythm sections with feeling, groove and precision. The guitarist nails the calm, dreamy and melodic parts while inviting the shivering fans to dream themselves far away. Last but not least, he pulls off several fast guitar solos, dueling harmoniously with the keyboard player and reaching a state of ecstasy in the band's most dramatic songs such as ''Full Moon''. Well done, mate!

Speaking of the keyboards, naysayers of yore might want to tell you that keyboards shouldn't be featured in metal bands. As you have learnt before, ignore the conservative routines of the wise old men and enjoy Mikko Härkin's fabulous play instead. He nails the introspective, longing and smooth sections in power ballads like the heartfelt ''Replica'', convinces in the atmospheric, cinematic and mysterious passages of progressive pearls such as ''The End of This Chapter'' and quickens up the pace in bangers like ''Weballergy'' as if his fingers were flying back and forth across the instrument like a magician. His stamina, technique and versatility command respect.

Last but not least, we have to talk about vocalist Tony Kakko. Boy, it must be challenging to sing with a skilled drummer firing away right behind you, the bass guitar beats making your heart run faster, the constant guitar attacks from the side and the loud keyboard patterns filling the hall with harmonious notes all the while the hundreds of fans are shouting their hearts out. And yet, the leader of the wolf pack delivers what might be the very best performance in his entire career. Emotional passages as in heartfelt power ballad ''Last Drop Falls'' will make listeners shed a tear while the versatile performance in ''The End of This Chapter'', featuring some whispering and growls, will take you on a dramatic voyage with many shifts and changes until high-speed anthems like ''Respect the Wilderness'' will make you gasp in anticipation as you wait for the moment when his voice might break while performing fast and high-pitched notes until you realize that it doesn't break because this artist simply outperforms himself. Once such a song is over, you have goosebumps all over your body and realize immediately that you have just witnessed an outstanding moment in the history of European power metal. Congratulations to the alpha of this talented pack of wolves!

There it is, dear metal friends, one of the greatest and most underrated live albums of the genre that is worth your attention, money and respect as it will provide hours and hours of enjoyment. The only acceptable alternative to purchasing this masterpiece would of course be to attend one of the band's concerts in person. However, you might only be able to attend a concert once in a while, especially since the beginning of the pandemic, while you can blast this timeless masterpiece here whenever you feel like it and put on your earphones when your boss pointlessly criticizes you, your friends mock your tastes in music or some unwelcome veteran wants to tell you about the dominance of American power metal. While you are immersing yourself into Sonata Arctica's magical world, all other pointless words become... Silence!