Sonata Arctica
Ecliptica

In the spring of 2000 (April?), I attended, full of excitement, a heavy metal concert with Rhapsody and Stratovarius at the Palalido in Milan. I left the venue disappointed by the performance of the two bands in question and thrilled by the engaging performance of the third, unknown to me, band that opened the show in 30 minutes: the Finnish Sonata Arctica.

During that concert, they played songs from their debut "Ecliptica," which became mine three days later.

Let's start by saying that Sonata Arctica owes a lot of their immediate success to their compatriots Stratovarius. It was Tolkki & Co. who launched them on a major European tour with only one album under their belt, which obviously exponentially increased their audience. How many bands have the opportunity to perform across half of Europe with a debut produced by a relatively unknown label like "Spinefarm Records"? Let's give them credit for seizing the opportunity in the best possible way. Besides the promotional aspect, the sound of "Ecliptica" is also highly influenced by the music of the best Stratovarius.

The keyboards (Harkin) play a fundamental role, equally matched by the guitar work (especially in fast solos) and the propensity for up-tempo. If I had to find differences between Sonata and Stratovarius, they would be in Kakko's voice, which is not as clean and high as Kotipelto's, and in the length of the songs. In this debut, they focused a lot on synthesis, not extending the songs and preferring to get straight to the point (refrain or solo). In short, no lengthy introductions like in Destiny and no overly repetitive choruses.

That said, "Ecliptica" is an album of pure Finnish power metal highly affable and enjoyable. It is mostly aimed at a teenage audience that wants to get excited and pumped with easy, very fast songs in the solo phase, endowed with choruses and melodic lines capable of intertwining with some genuinely heavy metal riffs. Let me be clear; this is not a criticism. Composing music that is so straightforward, direct, and pleasant and catchy from the first distracted listen is anything but easy given that it's an overused formula with enormous competition. "Ecliptica," from this point of view, is truly a well-packaged album and probably one of the best debuts in the power metal genre.

In "8th Commandment," we go at full speed: the verses fly as fast as the technically easy but lightning solo from Harkin and Liimatainen (keyboardist and guitarist, respectively). Welcome to speed metal, a precursor to Dragonforce!!! Nice, but the better songs are yet to come...
"My Land". Moderate tempos highlighted by a nice riff, contrasted with keyboards, launch a crescendo piece that doesn't focus solely on speed and offers excellent melodic insights in the long and studied chorus and in the break that disrupts the song, giving it more strength for the final rush.

"Full moon". A beautiful piano soundscape introduces a sad verse that becomes angry with the introduction of the riff. The track turns into a pleasant gallop that flows without overdoing the tempo. The refrain is a little gem, as airy and impactful as it is (even better live where the audience participates with force), and overall "Full Moon" turns out to be a great example of melodic metal.
"Replica". An initial arpeggio for a slow, profound, and passionate piece. The ability to compose valuable ballads is a characteristic that Sonata has managed to maintain over time: even in their debut, they hit the mark with a song that gradually hardens without losing its sad identity in the rocky break. Further praise goes to the lyrics, which don't talk about the girl of the moment but about war and how it can change a soldier's personality ("I'm a replica of me").

Without calling it a masterpiece, I consider "Ecliptica" a good example of melodic power metal from the late '90s. The flaws? Too influenced and lacking originality in its proposal, which is understandable given their young age. I always listen to it with great pleasure as it offers a fairly heterogeneous tracklist in terms of level (especially for the relentless Kingdom for a Heart, Blank File, and the conventional slow song Letter To Dana) and forty minutes of good metal melodies.

3 and a half stars.