I find Unia the best album Sonata have made since Silence. They really have got a vision how to progress in their career simultaneously saving the distinctive Sonata sound. There is no point for an established band like Sonata in following the simplistic speedpower path because it's been done and repeated by a vast numbet of younger European power bands for years already.
This CD may take a few spins before getting into it, but usually it is a good sign meaning that you will be listening to it much longer, and even after years it will still sound good.
That said, SA has never been on my top 10 of metal bands, but my personal interests aside, I will happily point out that they are one of the pathfinder progpower bands around, those few who didn't stagnate when they hit the success.
[rant]
There are more than enough generic power metal bands in Europe, similar sounding and repeating themselves and each others. When pseudo-melodic speedpower bands like Dragonforce (formed by guys from NSBM band Demoniac who moved in England and turned into speedpower, meh!) may raise in sudden heights in the USA then followed by the rest of the world, it's more of a marketing issue than anything.
Heck, Evanescence were sold to the American masses even they didn't bring anything new to the scene and they got huge all over the world selling what, 16 million copies of Fallen? European goth rock/metal bands had done the kind of music with female vocals for aeons but with no backing from any huge marketin machine.
But that's the way corporates feed the masses: sell the chosen "hot" style on full power, squeeze it dry, then drop it in favour of the next "hot topic". :Smug:
[/rant]
This CD may take a few spins before getting into it, but usually it is a good sign meaning that you will be listening to it much longer, and even after years it will still sound good.
That said, SA has never been on my top 10 of metal bands, but my personal interests aside, I will happily point out that they are one of the pathfinder progpower bands around, those few who didn't stagnate when they hit the success.
[rant]
There are more than enough generic power metal bands in Europe, similar sounding and repeating themselves and each others. When pseudo-melodic speedpower bands like Dragonforce (formed by guys from NSBM band Demoniac who moved in England and turned into speedpower, meh!) may raise in sudden heights in the USA then followed by the rest of the world, it's more of a marketing issue than anything.
Heck, Evanescence were sold to the American masses even they didn't bring anything new to the scene and they got huge all over the world selling what, 16 million copies of Fallen? European goth rock/metal bands had done the kind of music with female vocals for aeons but with no backing from any huge marketin machine.
But that's the way corporates feed the masses: sell the chosen "hot" style on full power, squeeze it dry, then drop it in favour of the next "hot topic". :Smug:
[/rant]
uke:
