Sonata Arctica Reckoning Night
Nuclear Blast NB1315-2- February 8, 2005
By Rodrigo Escandon
Reckoning Night is the fourth album by Finlands Sonata Arctica and once again the Fins have released another outstanding album. With each subsequent release Sonata Arctica has continued to improve by taking their trademark sound and adding enough things to continue to sound fresh and exciting. Vocally Tony has never sounded better as he is now fully entrenched in a lower range while occasionally using his higher range (reminiscent of Ecliptica). The band have also continued to go in a darker lyrical direction that may surprise some of you due to how happy their music sounds but just read the lyrics to show you that I am not lying.
In typical fashion Reckoning Night begins with the speedy Misplaced which is filled with excellent guitar and keyboard melodies and a big chorus section which is a new wrinkle added to their sound that is constant throughout this album. Another excellent fast paced song is Wildfire that features the narrator from previous albums in the beginning and then it heads to the fast frenetic pace. Of course what would be a Sonata Arctica album without a fast and melodic song about wolves (Full Moon, Wolf & Raven and The Cage) and that is reflected with Aint Your Fairytale. These three songs represent the all-out fast songs, as the rest are mid-tempo like Blinded No More or a ballad as is the beautiful Shamandalie.
An interesting piece is the instrumental Reckoning Day Reckoning Night which only features pianos and synthesizers to create a very dark atmosphere and it manages to segue perfectly to Dont Say A Word, the first single and my favorite song of Reckoning Night. For the most part Dont Say A Word is another fast song but it is not as straightforward as the bands other songs in this style. There are varying tempos and the singing and the melodies are also constantly moving in different directions. The chorus is extremely infectious and I found myself singing to it right away. If this song was my favorite then My Selene has to be my second favorite due to the fact that I simply cant get enough of the pace of the verses and how Tony sings this part. Despite the long title and the obvious reference to Pinocchio The Boy Who Wanted To Be A Real Puppet is an extremely interesting piece in that the structure of the song does not follow the typical verse/chorus/verse style. Instead its more of a narrated story that just keeps moving forward. The piano melody is also fascinating in how it sounds and really drives the song. White Pearl Black Oceans is the epic of this album and its a song that builds slowly but once it hits the 2:33 mark when the big chorus first appears the song just takes off with an interplay with Tony and a big choir singing the verses and chorus. It does slow down once again before it finishes off with a great flourish.
Reckoning Night is an excellent album with no negative whatsoever and it has definitely established itself as my favorite power metal album of last year and it should have been in my Top 10 list of 2004 (it was released worldwide in 2004). It has all the musical and lyrical aspects that the band is known for and the new innovations that were added continue to push Sonata Arctica forward and establishing them as one of the best melodic power metal bands.
9.5/10
Sonata Arctica Official Website
Nuclear Blast Official Website
Nuclear Blast NB1315-2- February 8, 2005
By Rodrigo Escandon
Reckoning Night is the fourth album by Finlands Sonata Arctica and once again the Fins have released another outstanding album. With each subsequent release Sonata Arctica has continued to improve by taking their trademark sound and adding enough things to continue to sound fresh and exciting. Vocally Tony has never sounded better as he is now fully entrenched in a lower range while occasionally using his higher range (reminiscent of Ecliptica). The band have also continued to go in a darker lyrical direction that may surprise some of you due to how happy their music sounds but just read the lyrics to show you that I am not lying.
In typical fashion Reckoning Night begins with the speedy Misplaced which is filled with excellent guitar and keyboard melodies and a big chorus section which is a new wrinkle added to their sound that is constant throughout this album. Another excellent fast paced song is Wildfire that features the narrator from previous albums in the beginning and then it heads to the fast frenetic pace. Of course what would be a Sonata Arctica album without a fast and melodic song about wolves (Full Moon, Wolf & Raven and The Cage) and that is reflected with Aint Your Fairytale. These three songs represent the all-out fast songs, as the rest are mid-tempo like Blinded No More or a ballad as is the beautiful Shamandalie.
An interesting piece is the instrumental Reckoning Day Reckoning Night which only features pianos and synthesizers to create a very dark atmosphere and it manages to segue perfectly to Dont Say A Word, the first single and my favorite song of Reckoning Night. For the most part Dont Say A Word is another fast song but it is not as straightforward as the bands other songs in this style. There are varying tempos and the singing and the melodies are also constantly moving in different directions. The chorus is extremely infectious and I found myself singing to it right away. If this song was my favorite then My Selene has to be my second favorite due to the fact that I simply cant get enough of the pace of the verses and how Tony sings this part. Despite the long title and the obvious reference to Pinocchio The Boy Who Wanted To Be A Real Puppet is an extremely interesting piece in that the structure of the song does not follow the typical verse/chorus/verse style. Instead its more of a narrated story that just keeps moving forward. The piano melody is also fascinating in how it sounds and really drives the song. White Pearl Black Oceans is the epic of this album and its a song that builds slowly but once it hits the 2:33 mark when the big chorus first appears the song just takes off with an interplay with Tony and a big choir singing the verses and chorus. It does slow down once again before it finishes off with a great flourish.
Reckoning Night is an excellent album with no negative whatsoever and it has definitely established itself as my favorite power metal album of last year and it should have been in my Top 10 list of 2004 (it was released worldwide in 2004). It has all the musical and lyrical aspects that the band is known for and the new innovations that were added continue to push Sonata Arctica forward and establishing them as one of the best melodic power metal bands.
9.5/10
Sonata Arctica Official Website
Nuclear Blast Official Website
