Sonata Arctica
Reckoning Night

THE REVIEW

Given that this is my first review, I hope to do a good job speaking musically about a good work. It is now clear that the Finnish Sonata Arctica hit hard with their style. "Reckoning Night" is no exception, showcasing refined technical skills with clean and distorted sounds mastered beautifully, and Tony Kakko's voice is wonderful. Sorry for implementing an almost track-by-track review, but it is necessary.

The album opens with the excellent Misplaced, which can be described as explosive and was used in the live "For The Sake Of Revange" as an opening track... truly impactful. It continues with "Blinded No More", which makes a great impression as it is very suitable for listening by anyone. I even managed to make my convinced anti-metal girlfriend appreciate it. The sweet voice in parts and excellent drum and guitar bases with a heartbreaking solo, although technically easy, make it stand out. "Ain't Your Fairytale" and "Reckoning Day, Reckoning Night" pass by quickly but are still very enjoyable to listen to. We reach a great song, "Don't Say A Word", perhaps one of the best on the album, full of rhythm and with a voice followed by a choir in many parts. It involves and stimulates our beloved headbang.

Other tracks I would like to mention are "Wildfire", stunning and with strange sounds in some ways, opening musically after 40 seconds in which a voice speaks and eventually says "burning, burning all", exactly anticipating a fiery track that does not disappoint expectations, truly good. Then comes the masterpiece of the CD "White Pearl, Black Ocean", which I would define as poetic and emotional, almost 9 minutes of pure ecstasy, technically and vocally stunning, it touches the heart with rapid headbanging accelerations to then return to the calm of the ocean mentioned. Finally, another masterpiece "Shamandalie", with the participation of the keyboard, which is very present throughout the entire CD, with excellent performances I must say, but particularly moving to listen to with eyes closed in the dark.

In essence, not a perfect album but very enjoyable and well made, it did not manage to replicate the previous "Ecliptica" and "Silence", but it is still a must-have in one's music collection for moments of carefree enjoyment with a great band like Sonata Arctica.