Monday 5 December 2011

Week 49: Sonata Arctica - The Power of One



The artist: For the last month of 2011, we'll be covering the grand finales of metal albums that exceed the 10 minute mark and there is no better way to conclude Monday Metal Treasures than to cover the magnificent album closers. Starting off, we have Sonata Arctica. These guys are one of the most notable power metal bands out there who started in 1996. They quickly rose into popularity amongst the power metal world and the lead singer Tony Kakko has found himself appearing in various other bands including Van Canto, Epica and even Stratovarius! Sonata Arctica have offered several great albums. Even the weakest efforts that are Unia and The Days of Grays still have their moments. However, if they want to climb up the ladder even further, they will need to offer something that's a huge step up from the said albums.

The album: Silence is Sonata Arctica's second album that offers many tracks. There's a total of 15 unique songs including the bonus track. Silence comes with many great songs from them such as Weballergy and The End of This Chapter. San Sebastian (Revisited) and Wolf & Raven are what should be considered essentials from them, despite them not even playing any songs from this album at the show in Manchester back in March. The record isn't perfect, though since there could have been a track or two cut off to give the album an even better flow. There is one too many ballads here but if you can get over that, you've got yourself a great power metal album.

The song: The Power of One starts off with sounds of rain and then the keyboards adding a little extra to the moody weather. Jani Liimatainen plays an acoustic guitar that stands out well but it's not long until the lyrics begin and Tony Kakko makes his introduction. The song goes through a few changes throughout the time. Also from Jani comes some impressive riffs and leads that are heard within only three minutes in. Halfway through is where the song settles down and shows some emotional voices from Tony with some unsettling keyboards. The band picks off again showing some keyboard solos and then even more powerful singing skills from Tony. If you have any doubts about this man, let them rest right here as he puts the verses up a few notches. Even the rest of the band have to keep up with him and they only rest once the song makes the grand finale.

Tony makes one more impressive show with his multilayer of vocals and show what he can do with his one voice. The song's lyrics are about Adam and Eve's songs Cain and Abel and while it's based on a religious story, what was taken from the bible can turn into a mighty story from a mere song. Overall, The Power of One stands as one of the finest Sonata Arctica songs ever made. With many changes throughout 10 minutes of this song and showing some great vocal capabilities of Tony Kakko, this song should be essential for their live shows.

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