Sonata Arctica
Silence

(…let's continue to bash our brains with some good ol' pudgy Finnish power metal)

Let's not deny it. With this Silence, Sonata Arctica have left a void behind, beside, and in front of them.
After a promising debut also under Spinefarm titled Ecliptica, Sonata silence and at the same time convert those who considered them a simple clone of their older brothers, those Stratovarius who indeed, probably gave birth to this particular type of power metal but who have recently rested comfortably on their laurels, incidentally after signing a recent million-dollar deal with moose blood (the limit to the ridiculous in metal clearly hasn't existed for a long time...).

First and foremost, it's important to specify that the five Finns have NEVER been clones of Stratovarius, but have always tried to propose a decidedly more refined power metal, decidedly less ephemeral (read pudgy) than that of their compatriots. The fact that Jani Liimatainen is an simply incredible guitarist and Tommy Portimo a drummer with those badass pudgy power skills isn't relevant when the songs manage to engage you to the point of not having to resort to the shabby lifeboat of "hell, we're badass musicians, what do you care about the album if we show off from start to finish with four-minute solos?"
In this case, what truly makes this CD great is certainly the vocal performance of Tony Kakko who possesses a very distinctive voice timbre, certainly not the usual little castrato, and who also occasionally indulges in some growl words during live performances. The vocal lines are thus always very effective, never banal or predictable as one might expect, and make each song easily distinguishable from the sea of compositions proposed by other power groups, whether it's furious power-speed songs like "Weballergy" or "Wolf & Raven" or poignant ballads marked by heart-wrenching pianos and air guitar solos in front of the mirror like Talullah (really beautiful in its final crescendo) and Last Drop Falls.

Also incredible is the ability to write songs halfway between ballad and pure metal-flavored outbursts (I've run out of synonyms... sorry) like False News Travels Fast, The End of this Chapter, and Sing in Silence, really well-done experiments. Besides the wonderful San Sebastian that also made an appearance in the "Successor" EP, my favorites are surely Wolf & Raven, certainly one of the best power songs I've ever heard and the suite The Power of One, a successful balance of more aggressive parts and other more introspective and purely atmospheric ones.

In short, a great album from a very young group that perhaps stands as the most promising power group currently in circulation, given the stylistic fossilization of Stratovarius & co.
(A bit long, but this CD deserves many words) Simply the best.