I haven't given it enough spins as yet...well 1 to be precise...and so far I;ve found myself raising my eyebrows a lot!
What do you guys reckon?
What do you guys reckon?
New Sonata album...what do you think?
- Thread starter Symphony
- Start date
Dan W
RTA 24/7
Was a bit like that after the first spin I gave the album as well. Several spins later and I think its a fantastic album
Some parts of the album feel slightly disjointed to begin with, but just snap into place with repeated listens
Some parts of the album feel slightly disjointed to begin with, but just snap into place with repeated listens
fool_in_paradise
Member
It's not an instant album that's for sure but it most definitely is a grower. At first i missed the fast stuff but with a few spins it fits in perfectly with their old material and i really love it. All except 'Zeroes', still hate the intro to that one 
.
I felt with Unia they went to complex with arrangements and layering. Here the song structures and melodies are solid Sonata with the Orchestration fitting perfectly to the music.
First listen i gave it a 6
I now give it an 8.5 it may still climb higher
.I felt with Unia they went to complex with arrangements and layering. Here the song structures and melodies are solid Sonata with the Orchestration fitting perfectly to the music.
First listen i gave it a 6
I now give it an 8.5 it may still climb higher
Power_Metal_Dom
Epic Metaller
How odd that I should see this thread just as today I ordered my copy on Play 
Well I'll resist finding a playlist on YouTube or some such but I can't say I've got high hopes for this album seeing how Unia was a bit of let down for me, not a bad album just pretty average. My hopes were lowered further when Henrik was quoted saying
Well I'll resist finding a playlist on YouTube or some such but I can't say I've got high hopes for this album seeing how Unia was a bit of let down for me, not a bad album just pretty average. My hopes were lowered further when Henrik was quoted saying
. To say that it's "quite possibly their best yet" when there's Ecliptica, Silence and Reckoning Night to go up against is pretty controversial in my books. In any case there are mixed reactions here so I'll just have to wait and see
The thing that struck me on initial listen (which is all I have to go on so far) was that I didn't particular like some of the vocal stylings, so to speak. But....I'm gonna persevere. I really didn't like the last record, maybe listened to it 5 times at most. Just did not do it for me at all.....hopefully this one isn't going to go the same way.
1928
Jack Nippleson
- May 13, 2007
- 2,789
- 14
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I can definitely see why people dislike Unia. I got the album on release day, and it took over two years for some of the tracks to click with me. I didn't like The Harvest much until a few months ago. The Vice is the only song that I don't really care for on Unia, but I've grown to really appreciate the rest of the album.
The Days of Grays kind of continues in the style of Unia, it's got a lot of experimentation going on, but it's much more polished and sophisticated, in my opinion. In fact, I'd go so far as to say there are many moments that sound like Sonata merged with Nightwish... It's very theatrical and there are some strange vocals going on, but to me, it works very well. The first listen was a surprise (I hated Zeroes at first), but now I love the whole thing.
I think I'd put it above the rest of their albums because of how mature and hauntingly beautiful it sounds to me. Ecliptica and Silence are great albums, but I think The Days of Grays provides an enchanting atmosphere in its songs that I can't find on their earlier albums. Deathaura is an excellent example, and The Last Amazing Grays... just wow.
Maybe I'm just in a minority who prefer this new, darker Sonata to the cheery, speedy Sonata of old. Nothing wrong with catchy power metal anthems - I just think Sonata has always been better at moody, depressing songs.
The Days of Grays kind of continues in the style of Unia, it's got a lot of experimentation going on, but it's much more polished and sophisticated, in my opinion. In fact, I'd go so far as to say there are many moments that sound like Sonata merged with Nightwish... It's very theatrical and there are some strange vocals going on, but to me, it works very well. The first listen was a surprise (I hated Zeroes at first), but now I love the whole thing.
I think I'd put it above the rest of their albums because of how mature and hauntingly beautiful it sounds to me. Ecliptica and Silence are great albums, but I think The Days of Grays provides an enchanting atmosphere in its songs that I can't find on their earlier albums. Deathaura is an excellent example, and The Last Amazing Grays... just wow.
Maybe I'm just in a minority who prefer this new, darker Sonata to the cheery, speedy Sonata of old. Nothing wrong with catchy power metal anthems - I just think Sonata has always been better at moody, depressing songs.
I'm starting to get into the new album, as most have said it's a grower... interesting direction they're taking and i think the new stuff will mix up their live set nicely.
Andiferum
My penis exploded
I can't say I've loved it since play one, it certainly takes a number of spins to appreciate. Especially the second half of the album.
My main gripe with this is the digipack is slightly bigger than a regular CD case so it sticks out of my CD collection. Bah!
My main gripe with this is the digipack is slightly bigger than a regular CD case so it sticks out of my CD collection. Bah!
Dan W
RTA 24/7
Look on the brightside, my Sonata collection is currently stacked in a CD tower and the Digipak won't fit into the slots. Might need to rearrange my whole collection due to this
RedFox742
Power/Prog Devotee
About to listen for the first time... I've heard TLAG and FitG but not the rest. I liked those two, but I've heard really bad things about the rest.
I'm afraid.
Okay, here goes.
I'm afraid.
Okay, here goes.
RedFox742
Power/Prog Devotee
... Ugh.
First four tracks I loved. Rest of the album bored me so much I switched over to Cain's Offering for a bit before resuming.
I'll give it more listens, but... when did Sonata decide they were too good for choruses, memorable guitar/keyboard lines, or anything not pretentiously intelli-prog? Look at us, we've slowed down and made our vocals lower and harsher, turned our ballads from brilliant to tedious (I'll treasure you forever, Replica) and just generally stopped being fun. Are we respectable now?
I doubt I'll buy another Sonata album, unless it's touted as a back-to-roots. But I'll forever love their early stuff. Even Unia more than this.
I'm sad. :/
First four tracks I loved. Rest of the album bored me so much I switched over to Cain's Offering for a bit before resuming.
I'll give it more listens, but... when did Sonata decide they were too good for choruses, memorable guitar/keyboard lines, or anything not pretentiously intelli-prog? Look at us, we've slowed down and made our vocals lower and harsher, turned our ballads from brilliant to tedious (I'll treasure you forever, Replica) and just generally stopped being fun. Are we respectable now?
I doubt I'll buy another Sonata album, unless it's touted as a back-to-roots. But I'll forever love their early stuff. Even Unia more than this.
I'm sad. :/
It has grown on me to be honest, particularly the first half of the album. The trouble I find these days is that I can pretty much tell if I really like an album by whether or not I can remember the song titles!
Power_Metal_Dom
Epic Metaller
I've had this on my ipod for a while now and have given the album a thorough listen. I was hoping that it'd grow on me after a few spins like the posts above but my reaction remains mixed. There are a few salvageable tracks on here but also a few that have been sacrificed for the sake of 'going in a different direction'. 'Zeroes' for instance just doesn't sound like power metal at all. I appreciate some of the symphonic elements but on the whole it seems as if the fan reaction to Unia has been ignored.
1928
Jack Nippleson
- May 13, 2007
- 2,789
- 14
- 38
So, I was thinking about this the other day - looking back at Sonata's list of releases, it seems they go about 2 albums before releasing some type of live release. Ecliptica and Silence before Songs of Silence, Winterheart and Reckoning before FTSOR, Unia and The Days of Grays before something new, maybe?
Would you rather see more Unia tracks on the next live release or more stuff from The Days of Grays? Given how they still play a lot of older songs, it should have a very nice mix of all the albums, so I'd actually like a nice balance of them. I would probably prefer the next live DVD to have more Unia/TDOG songs than older stuff, though, since the others have plenty of them. Maybe even play some stuff that didn't make it to older live releases, like Abandoned, Pleased, Brainwashed, Exploited and all of Gravenimage...
Would you rather see more Unia tracks on the next live release or more stuff from The Days of Grays? Given how they still play a lot of older songs, it should have a very nice mix of all the albums, so I'd actually like a nice balance of them. I would probably prefer the next live DVD to have more Unia/TDOG songs than older stuff, though, since the others have plenty of them. Maybe even play some stuff that didn't make it to older live releases, like Abandoned, Pleased, Brainwashed, Exploited and all of Gravenimage...
RedFox742
Power/Prog Devotee
Ironically, though I still can't say I like the song, I now cannot get the following out of my head:
DANCING AT THE BORDERLINE
DANCING AT THE BORDERLINE
DANCING AT THE BORDERLINE
DANCING AT THE BORDERLINE
DANCING AT THE BORDERLINE
DANCING AT THE BORDERLINE
DANCING AT THE BORDERLINE
DANCING AT THE BORDERLINE
DANCING AT THE BORDERLINE
DANCING AT THE BORDERLINE
DANCING AT THE BORDERLINE
DANCING AT THE BORDERLINE
DANCING AT THE BORDERLINE
DANCING AT THE BORDERLINE
DANCING AT THE BORDERLINE
DANCING AT THE BORDERLINE
rdyfrde
Seer of fish heads
And you're correct. Tony confirmed that they're going to record a show next year during this present tour. It will also be filmed and included on the Anniversary DVD
As for the new album, it's not as good as Unia (which is my favorite) but it's got some really great songs on it like: Juliet, Deathaura, In the Dark, and The Dead Skin.
Though I can understand the people that were put off by it on the first listen. I had troubles with it myself but I kept listening to it and it managed to open up for me. I'm still not fond of "Breathing" but the rest I listen to regularly.
Is it just me or has anyone else found themselves listening to the symphonic versions more than the actual album itself?
