Sonata Arctica
Silence

THE REVIEW

I am now embarking on writing my second review, and as a genre, we completely switch genres, from black to power... A genre that unfortunately is literally imploding lately due to a decidedly too large number of new bands that are mostly the same as each other, and because among the great historic groups, there are few still producing valid releases today... And this is sadly the case with my dear Sonata Arctica, who already worried me with "Unia," nearly exhausted me with "Days of Grays," and with the last boredom they produced, have definitively dealt the final blow to my reputation for them... Perhaps it's precisely for this reason that I am set to review one of their great old works, because in my opinion, up until the majestic "Winterheart’s Guild," they had somewhat reinvented a genre, made it their own, and produced great works. Among these great works is, indeed, "Silence," the second effort officially released in the now distant 2001.

One, two, three, and here we go, we start with the narrated intro that gives the title to the CD, followed by the fast and breezy Weballergy, a good power song somewhat tied to the post-Helloween style even if, in the long run, a bit repetitive. The third track is the ironic False News Travel Fast, another up-tempo with a classic engaging refrain, catchy chorus, and super melodic and fiery solos. Together with Don't Say A Word and Caleb in a mini-concept based on stalking, the combo presents us with one of the absolute hits of the entire CD: The End Of This Chapter. A slow piece but not a ballad in its most canonical conception, this track is essentially based on the melancholic melody woven by the keyboards and a heartbreaking chorus that surely every Sonata fan knows by heart, with a crescendo in the finale capable of moving any lover of this kind of power. For me, one of the 5-6 most beautiful pieces in the entire repertoire of the Finnish group. But enough with the sentimentality, we resume with another great classic of Sonata, even live, the famous Black Sheep: of this piece, thrilling and powerful, I would particularly recall the solo, probably one of the most beautiful of the album. Next comes Land Of The Free, a very heterogeneous piece inside, with a heartfelt climax from the slow intro to the final gallop where the bass takes the lead, something quite atypical for Sonata Arctica. We approach the conclusion, and there couldn't be missing the classic tear-jerking slow: here we are presented with Last Drop Falls, opened by a sweet guitar arpeggio, supported by a melancholic (just to change, you might say...) melody that will engrave itself on your mind, a piece not recommended for those faint of heart or liver.

Again, like before, the time to catch your breath is over and here comes another classic by Sonata: San Sebastian bursts in with its 170 bpm speed, making us sing like lunatics (even more so live) to the notes of a highly melodic song whose lyrics to describe as "not very committed" would be an understatement... This is followed by Sing In Silence, where finally the combo shows they can also handle serious topics, specifically about a girl who fell into the drug circle and never got out. A good piece, although personally, along with the subsequent instrumental Revontulet, I consider it the least successful of the CD. Will one ballad be enough for a good Sonata Arctica album? Absolutely not, and thus comes the eleventh track, the splendid and desperate (albeit vaguely juvenile, in terms of lyrics) Tallulah: if you like tear-jerking power metal ballads, you can't not adore this song. The words of the refrain still echo, "Tallulah, it's easier to live alone than fear the time it's over"...

The set is closed by Wolf & Raven and The Power Of One, an heavy track the first, much tied to the theme of nature and the icon of the wolf to which Kakko often referred, and an elegant suite the second, able to transition seamlessly and without raising eyebrows from moments of calm and tranquility to gallops to which the Finnish group has often accustomed us (at least in the past...).

In conclusion, we are talking about a CD that represents a classic for all lovers of Finnish-stamped melodic power and fundamentally the work that most of all made Sonata Arctica take the leap in quality (and notoriety). Probably many of you at home already have it, or at least know it like the back of your hand, especially if you belong to the power-addicted category, for everyone else... Well, if I were you, I would genuinely give it a listen, we are, after all, talking about an album that, for better or worse, launched Sonata Arctica into the pantheon of power metal gods and fundamentally marked an era... It might give you unexpected satisfaction, with its delicate and deeply melancholic melodies...

Meditate...