Jani

[EvilWizard]

As Stated on SonataArctica.info

"As many already know, our guitarist Jani Liimatainen has been absent from the line-up this spring and summer.
The reason was his messing around with his compulsory military/civil/prison duty, or rather,
complete failure to take care of it.

This matter, and everything that goes with it, caused a split between Jani and the other band members.
This split was impossible to mend without Jani's help and co-operation.

Therefore we would like to make known the following:
During fall of '06 and spring of '07, Jani's personal matters and actions drove us to a situation
where we had no option but to ask Jani to leave the band.

Jani was notified of this in May, and the separation was amicable. We wanted to give Jani the
chance to get his life together before making this public, which is why we didn't make this
announcement earlier. We wish Jani well on his chosen path.

"Show must go on", so, facing the facts, we hereby humbly announce that Elias Viljanen
is from this day forward a full and official member of Sonata Arctica.

Throughout this summer, on many occasions, Elias has shown himself to be able to fill
the big boots Jani left behind.

We hope our friends and our fans understand that this was the only choice left for us to make so
that our band could continue. Sonata Arctica has always been, and always will be, more than the
sum of its parts. The band has become for us a way of life, a lifeline that simply can not be cut off.

A long "Unia" -tour lies in front of us.
We extend Elias a warm welcome to the Sonata family, and we hope the fans will, too.
Sonata Arctica is whole again.

See you on the road!

Best regards,
~Tony, Tommy, Marko, and Henrik"


Well, can't say none of us saw this one coming.

 

[Metaldrumz]

Im actually glad. Maybe Jani can get a new band that isnt so boring. I find Sonata to suffer from the Dragonforce syndrome. Then when they do change song styles they forget to add great hooks and melodies to them.

Of course just one persons opinion but Unia did jackshit for me, and other than a handful of kickass cover songs most of Sonata's back catalog all sounds the same to me. Uptempo same formula drivin power metal (and Im a huge power metal fan).

Jani was awesome in ALTARIA before leaving that band as well. I've always loved his playing, and look forward to what he does if/when he returns to the scene.

 

[See You In Hell]

Im actually glad. Maybe Jani can get a new band that isnt so boring. I find Sonata to suffer from the Dragonforce syndrome. Then when they do change song styles they forget to add great hooks and melodies to them.

Of course just one persons opinion but Unia did jackshit for me, and other than a handful of kickass cover songs most of Sonata's back catalog all sounds the same to me. Uptempo same formula drivin power metal (and Im a huge power metal fan).

Jani was awesome in ALTARIA before leaving that band as well. I've always loved his playing, and look forward to what he does if/when he returns to the scene.

I have to cast a bit of a dissenting opinion regarding Sonata Arctica, their "Unia" album and their back catalog. I enjoy all of that material quite a lot but, of course, that is just how I feel. I suppose if we all shared the exact same opinions about every band the many of the conversations in this forum would dry up!

However, I do agree with you that Jani's work in Altaria was excellent and I would cheer his return to that group if and when he gets his personal matters sorted out. He is a talented musician and I do hope he can resurface onto the scene in the near future. I wish the best for him!

 

[Stingray11214]

I hate to say this, but I think Jani is finished as far as the Finnish scene is concerned. I know I attacked Threshold for being unprofessional for wanting to kill off their PPUSA appearance because of Mac leaving because I truly believed they saw the Mac farewell coming. However, what Jani did was far, FAR worse. Remember, he not only brought himself down, he nearly brought down a band that was/is on the cusp of stardom. And, that he did so WILLINGLY and knowingly, will leave a very bad taste in people's mouths.

I think if Jani is smart, he does his time, and then comes to the States and join a small band here. I doubt anyone is Finland is going to trust him for a long time.

Peace,
Ray C.

 

[Mosquito]

Im actually glad. Maybe Jani can get a new band that isnt so boring. I find Sonata to suffer from the Dragonforce syndrome. Then when they do change song styles they forget to add great hooks and melodies to them.

While I don't like Dragonforce, I am curious as to what your definition of the Dragonforce Syndrome is. I disagree completely with your assessment of Sona Arctica though, are we listening to the same band? They forgot to add hooks and melodies? We can't be listening to the same band at all as that is what their whole 'sound' is based on. And I'm someone who doesn't require hooks and melodies for a good song.

Of course just one persons opinion but Unia did jackshit for me, and other than a handful of kickass cover songs most of Sonata's back catalog all sounds the same to me. Uptempo same formula drivin power metal (and Im a huge power metal fan).

I think Unia is a great album, I have only found Winterhearts Guild to be a lacking effort by the band. I have to completely disagree about Uptempo same formula driven power metal as well. They have songs of all different sorts, unless your idea of uptempo is different from mine. False News Travels Fast would be an uptempo song, Caleb being a good 'chugga chugga' tempo, and obviously any ballads they have done are not uptempo really at all. There are more instances of all three of course, but I'm not going to tear through every song they've done just to figure out exactly how many of each were made. I would agree that the uptempo ones are probably predominant, but whatever...its metal...not rock.[/quote]

Jani was awesome in ALTARIA before leaving that band as well. I've always loved his playing, and look forward to what he does if/when he returns to the scene.

Never listened to Altaria. I don't know how I feel about the guitarist switch yet. I have not heard the other fellow's playing. I thought Unia was great and look forward to the next album. Guess we'll see how the whole thing pans out. I thought Jani added character to the band alongside Tony though.

 

[BlackRoseMetalHeart]

There is already a thread posted regarding this Sonata announcement.

 

[Mosquito]

I hate to say this, but I think Jani is finished as far as the Finnish scene is concerned. I know I attacked Threshold for being unprofessional for wanting to kill off their PPUSA appearance because of Mac leaving because I truly believed they saw the Mac farewell coming. However, what Jani did was far, FAR worse. Remember, he not only brought himself down, he nearly brought down a band that was/is on the cusp of stardom. And, that he did so WILLINGLY and knowingly, will leave a very bad taste in people's mouths.

I think if Jani is smart, he does his time, and then comes to the States and join a small band here. I doubt anyone is Finland is going to trust him for a long time.

Peace,
Ray C.

While I agree that he should've completed his service so that he could rejoin his bandmates. If what the rest of the band is saying is true, that Jani was "messing around" instead of doing his service, then he is definitely to blame for his own dismissal. However, we don't know what was going on with Jani at all and so we should not jump to conclusions based on what other people are saying. He might have had good reason to be "messing around" that they might not have even been aware of. Either way, remember that a lot of us live in the USA where military service is NOT compulsory (this is definitely not a pro-USA statement, just a statement of truth). While I think that military service for a year or something should be compulsory in all countries, I can also understand not wanting to do it. I know that if I were being made to join the military for a compulsory term, I sure as hell would not want to do it. I'm not going to judge him by his actions as far as this goes as I don't know what is really going on.

However, what Jani did was far, FAR worse. Remember, he not only brought himself down, he nearly brought down a band that was/is on the cusp of stardom. And, that he did so WILLINGLY and knowingly, will leave a very bad taste in people's mouths.

I think if Jani is smart, he does his time, and then comes to the States and join a small band here. I doubt anyone is Finland is going to trust him for a long time.

You must really enjoy jumping on band members or something, I don't really understand it.

While SA is doing very well for themselves, they are already at the height of what they can achieve in the metal world, aside from being the next Iron Maiden or something. SA is a top tier power metal band, even if one doesn't agree that their music is top notch, their popularity can't be denied. I don't see the situation that occurred as threatening to the bands survival though at all. You are acting like he was purposely sabotaging SA's success.

If Jani is smart, he will do his compulsory military service, then do whatever the hell he wants. He's a good guitarist who can find his way to a good band. He doesn't need to leave Finland to accomplish that. I seriously doubt everyone (or even every musician) is going to see Jani and say 'man..that guy...he almost screwed SA's chance at success even though he worked just as hard as the others to get the band to where it was....we don't want that guy in our band!...he should just move to the USA or something".

I don't understand why fans try to involve themselves in band politics at all. It does suck when a band loses a member usually, however starting accusations based on what the other party is saying is just retarded. Innocent until proven guilty?

 

[Progmetalmaniac]

I have to agree with Mosquito here. i think Unia is great. DrumRman needs to listen to it again. BTW, Altaria is the most boring generic music there is. I can't imagine that anyone would like this more than Sonata Arctica. Altaria is so boring and bland. I woiuld just fast forward to the guitar solos. Elias Viljanen, Jani's replacement is a very good player and I am curious to hear new studio work whenever they get to it (probably awhile). I still think Jani is a very good player and I'm sure he will be back in another band eventually.

 

[AMBR]

There is already a thread posted regarding this Sonata announcement.

I tried, I truly tried.
I don't think Jani really screwed over SA. They'll be fine with another talented guitarist. Really looking forward to checking him out. Who he really screwed is himself. Can't understand why he's making such a huge deal out of it and practically throwing away his career. Is it the principal of the military? Hell, Finland's military doesn't exactly have a long track record of war mongering. Having just sent my son to Iraq, I have no sympathy for him.

 

[rockyracoon]

While I agree that he should've completed his service so that he could rejoin his bandmates. If what the rest of the band is saying is true, that Jani was "messing around" instead of doing his service, then he is definitely to blame for his own dismissal. However, we don't know what was going on with Jani at all and so we should not jump to conclusions based on what other people are saying. He might have had good reason to be "messing around" that they might not have even been aware of. Either way, remember that a lot of us live in the USA where military service is NOT compulsory (this is definitely not a pro-USA statement, just a statement of truth). While I think that military service for a year or something should be compulsory in all countries, I can also understand not wanting to do it. I know that if I were being made to join the military for a compulsory term, I sure as hell would not want to do it. I'm not going to judge him by his actions as far as this goes as I don't know what is really going on.

You make some good points, and I agree with them. Someone's reasons for not wanting to serve military duty are just as valid as someone's reasons for why one should serve their duty. If he had personal reasons for not wanting to serve, then that is his business. Perhaps things are(were) going very well for Jani and he didn't exactly like the idea of being pulled away to serve mandatory anything. Unfortunate that this caused such a rift between his band mates, but either way I cannot fault him for what he did, especially without knowing his actual reasoning behind it. Sonata will no doubt do fine without him, but he did have a great stage presence and I'm guessing he was a contributor to the creative process as well. Hope he lands on his feet.

 

[Cheiron]

I guess as a guitarist I consider this. Their live performance will change little, unless the new guy doesn't interact with the audience. Its their future albums that matter. If he has to be included in the song writing, particularly writing/playing any guitar solos, then the sound of SA could change (okay live it may change too, but everyband has different tone live). Either way I friggin can't wait to see them play live.

 

[Ruthven]

Put my vote in with the "I like 'Unia'" crowd. It's probably my favorite SA album next to "Ecliptica."

 

[Metaldrumz]

yadda yadda yadda

No offense but I really have no desire to debate over a band that I rarely listen to. In a nutshell 80% of every Sonata song I've ever heard (And Ive heard every CD) had the same doublebass uptempo themes to the song. One listen to Unia and I was bored to tears. Nothing left a memorable impression on me melody wise.....was just kinda there, and bland to my ears. Not bad by any means.....just nothing that left me wanting to return to it.

Thats why I specifically stated one mans opinion. I know all the Sonata fanboys are gonna disagree and thats fine.

Oh and to who said Jani has fucked himself......I HIGHLY doubt it. I would bet my nuts that if he returns to the music scene he will have no problems drawing attention to the project.