Sonata Arctica in concert

See You In Hell

See You In Hell

Is this the real McCoy?
Feb 13, 2007
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five-venoms.spaces.live.com
For those who have yet to see Sonata Arctica on their current tour in support of their latest album, Unia, I thought I would share a little bit with you since I had the pleasure of seeing them perform in Fort Worth, Texas this past Wednesday, September 12. In short, once again they were amazing! They did seem rather intent on moving directly through the set (not a lot of band interaction with the crowd until the latter part of the show) but I suspect it was due to the fact that a couple of the opening bands had technical difficulties that threw scheduling off somewhat. Still, the show overall was very enjoyable and the band was very tight.

If there are any worries about how Elias, the new guitarist, fits in I can tell you to put those worries to rest -- he is the perfect addition to this band. In typical Sonata Arctica fashion the guys all hung around after the show to talk with fans, sign autographs, and take pictures. Very nice guys indeed! I did mention ProgPower USA VIII and they are very much looking forward to the festival. Although tempted I did not ask if they had any special surprises or changes to the setlist for the event. I suppose I didn't want to spoil the surprise, should their be one, for myself or others. Ain't altrusim grand? Henrik did recommend in the strongest possible terms that Freak Kitchen are a force to be reckoned with so that comment piqued even more my interest in seeing them in the Showcase. In fact we must have talked about Freak Kitchen for at least 10 minutes! :lol:

As you can see from the setlist below there are 4 songs from Unia. I know the new album has generated some strong opinions here in the forum but I, for one, was happy to see the inclusion of these new songs because I really enjoy Unia immensely.

The setlist (sorry for the odd angle but it was the best I could do):
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Elias:
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Henrik:
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Tommy:
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Tony:
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Tony and Marko (and Tommy in the background):
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Overall I'd say a pretty decent set list. Would be nice to see them do maybe 2-3 more songs. Nice to see Gravenimage, considering they omitted that on the last tour. Caleb is probably my favorite track off Unia so that will be cool. Looks like they're still closing the show same as they did last tour which is ok but I'd love to see that get mixed up a bit.
 
A quickie...

Looking forward to this! Friggan sweet that they are playing Caleb as that is indeed my favorite track off the new one. Awesome to hear they still like to hang out at the show as last time they were through this area, we chatted for a long time with them well into the evening. It even started to rain, but they were like, "fuck it! it is only rain!". Me and Larry (one of my friends) tried to do a sell-job on Tony Kakko about ProgPowerUSA (basically trying to convince them if they would play if offered the chance, as Tony did not even know what ProgPowerUSA was at the time). Wonder if that had any influence in their PP appearance for this year. I'll have to ask him after the October 3 show and find out.
 
I'm really hoping they add some more tracks from Unia for Prog Power. I would hope that the PP audience would be more receptive to their new progressive material than their traditional power metal fans (the ones who have been complaining about the cd and make up the majority of the audience on their tours).

I think Unia is an amazing cd; it is quickly becoming one of my absolute favorite cds of all time. However, it is so different from their previous material. I would bet that a lot of people who don't like power metal would really appreciate Unia but probably wrote off Sonata Arctica years ago as a typical power metal band (incessant double base drum, formulaic songs, repetitive choruses; Unia has none of these).

They are going to need to change their fan base if they are going to stick with their new sound (I really hope they do). PP could be a good opportunity for this; however, they need to add some more material from Unia to their set list and then people who are not already fans would have to stay to check them out (since they are the last act of the night there is a good chance that a lot of people will not stick around).

That all being said, I'd love it if they'd add "The Harvest" back to their set list (it was on their set list in Finland). Also "The Vice" (my favorite from Unia) and "My Dream is but a Drop of Fuel for a Nightmare" would be nice additions as well.

Robin
 
Im hoping for a more balanced setlist from all of their albums. They should remember that although they have toured, many of us are very much longtime fans that did not see Silence or Ecliptica stuff performed.
 
Pellaz said:
+1


And also for me, "Replica", but that's pushing it. :)
Click to expand...

I don't see how Replica is pushing it - as it was played atleast as late as February 2005 (not sure about afterwards as I haven't kept up with setlists), since it's on their For The Sake Of Revenge live CD/DVD.

However, I'm not sure when the last time Wolf & Raven was played was...
 
If their set containts 85%+ of the first 3 albums ill be orgasmicly happy. Im hoping for Shamandalie that's one of my fav. ballads by em
 
I think we see them this coming Monday? I need to check my calender. Looking forward to it, even though I really don't like Unia. Last time I saw them was fantastic, they really put on a great performance.
 
Just got back from the tempe show, and instead of creating a whole new thread I just wanted to say that for anyone on the Fence about going to see them.. GO. FUCKING GO. GO FUCKING NOW.

Good lord. Sonata Arctica delivers. Period. To this day, I would have to say they are the best live band I've seen. Tony is an absolute MASTER at getting the crowd fired up and just loves the attention, a real showman. The band plays awesome live, and tonight they busted out Full Moon, 8th Commandment, Black Sheep, and My Land (ironic, when they played "My Land" no less than 4 mexican flags shot into the air.) ... which I thought was fucking incredible to hear. With a Catalog stretching into 3 more recent CDs I haven't really felt like getting into there were more they could've chosen, but they did the classics and I was thrilled.

So yes. Best live Band I've seen to date, taking over the title from Brainstorm, Orphaned Land and Mercenary.
 
Oh man!! I really can't wait to FINALLY see these guys live. I've wanted to see them for a long time, but never got the chance to see them. I think they will put on a really great show at ProgPower. Who knows, maybe they will throw in a surprise or two...
 
I was at this show too and See You In Hell is right, it was awesome but felt rushed! Great show, great band, but not one of my all-time favorite performances. Certainly not moreso than Kamelot three nights prior, however it felt like Sonata was holding back. While watching them, I'm thinking "THIS is the headliner at ProgPower? Are you serious? Kamelot just destroyed the hell out of them, how can this be?" I have a feeling they wont pull out the big guns until ProgPower, and THEN they'll make it to my list of favorite shows. :tickled:

I hadn't felt like listening to the new album yet but now I want to! I really liked the tracks from Unia!

I'm content with anything in the set list at PP. I already heard my favorites: San Sebastian, 8th Commandment, and Don't Say A Word. :cool:
 
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