| drbunnig said: Sonata Arctica were an excellent band. Those first 3-4 albums are pure power metal gold. Lost their way a bit after that, flashes of brilliance but much of the output is inconsistent. |
Agreed in some respects. Reckoning Night is simply a masterpiece, one of my favorite all time albums. Just has the perfect balance of speed metal, classic power metal, and more melodic stuff with a hint of progressive stuff which suits the band best I think. After that they leaned too heavily on the progressive stuff and tried to experient with some weird styles/instruments that was hit and miss with me.
I do have a soft spot for Unia as this was roughly when I got into the band, so there's a certian sentimentality with it, plus I do like some of the more progressive tracks on that album. For some odd reason much of Stones Grow her Name resonates with me too despite most fans seemingly hating it - I think it's just because of the weird, off-the-wall tracks and diversity in the style of music on that album, as well as some songs with catchy hooks. The only albums I don't really care for as a whole are Days of Grays (a lot of whiny songs and ballads) and their latest one Ninth Hour (few catchy tracks, and most songs just seem to blend together on account of the constantly shifting melodies and structures). Pariah's Child is pretty lukewarm for me to, though it does have a few tracks I enjoy.
But yeah as a whole, early Sonata > current/post-Unia Sonata no question.
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