This album has some of the anthems of power metal.
It is even more astonishing that this is their very first full-length album. Listening to it, you'd think they'd been around for years perfecting their sound. Songs like "My Land" and "Full Moon" the ever melodic mid-tempo classics that ... Read review
Advantages: Beautifully constructed, epic, heavy, melodic, everything! Disadvantages: There isn't any
This album has some of the anthems of power metal.
It is even more astonishing that this is their very first full-length album. Listening to it, you'd think they'd been around for years perfecting their sound. Songs like "My Land" and "Full Moon" the ever melodic mid-tempo classics that Sonata Arctica are so good at producing, the latter being very close to power metal perfection.
"Unopened" ... ...little. Both are fantastically catchy and have a couple of the best choruses in metal.
The essential ultra-fast track is "8th Commandment". It doesn't disappoint. This set the extremely high standard for all of Sonata Arctica's albums which followed.
They also set the standard for their ballads on this album, the best on here for me being "Letter to Dana". Kakko's vocals are incredibly powerful and ... more
This album has some of the anthems of power metal.
It is even more astonishing that this is their very first full-length album. Listening to it, you'd think they'd been around for years perfecting their sound. Songs like "My Land" and "Full Moon" the ever melodic mid-tempo classics that Sonata Arctica are so good at producing, the latter being very close to power metal perfection.
"Unopened" and "Kingdom for a Heart" pick the pace up a little. Both are fantastically catchy and have a couple of the best choruses in metal.
The essential ultra-fast track is "8th Commandment". It doesn't disappoint. This set the extremely high standard for all of Sonata Arctica's albums which followed.
They also set the standard for their ballads on this album, the best on here for me being "Letter to Dana". Kakko's vocals are incredibly powerful and highly listenable, and you'll be singing along with the chorus immediately.
This set the bar pretty high and so far they have managed to stay as good, and on occasions have even managed to better it. This album is a must-have.
Advantages: Superb Finnish Powermetal Disadvantages: Not quite as vocally sound as their newer efforts
The first album from modern-day Powermetal legends SonataArctica is an absolutely stunning debut step into the musical world. If you're a fan of the genre of metal yet haven't heard any of their music, they could be classed as a modern version of Iron Maiden, though more technical, and with a far superior set of songs.
Hailing from Finland, the European country with the reputation for producing the best Powermetal sounds, they are friends and contemporaries with such musical luminaries as Nightwish and Stratovarius. Though they play the same style as these bands, they do so on this album with a youthful exhuberance not matched by the aforementioned artists.
The music is laced with a rare energy, and SonataArctica also appear to be able to create quality riffs for fun, just check out Kingdom for a Heart and My Land ...
Advantages: Has some songs that are worth listening to Disadvantages: Not as good as previous work
This album has been both praised and critisized by long term SonataArctica fans and if you are a first time listener, I would recommend listening to "Ecliptica" or "Silence", which are two of their earlier albums and will give you a taste of the type of music that they usually produce.
This album is different from the others that they have made. The others you could just listen to once and they would be instantly memorable and incredibly compelling. Unia may take a while to settle into, but when you have listened to it a few times, you begin to understand the subtleties that the band have integrated into their songs and gives us more reason to praise them for being one of the best power metal bands in the world. It may not seem like it at first, but they still have their fast paced, heart racing songs and dark, lyrical ballads that ...
Product Information for "Ecliptica - Sonata Arctica" »
Product details
Title
Ecliptica
Performer
Sonata Arctica
Genre
Heavy Metal
Release Date
06/10/2008
Original Release Year
1999
Label / Distributor
Spinefarm UK / Universal Music
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Stereo
Stereo
Format
Performer
EAN
602517852532
Catalogue Number
1785253
Additional notes
Album Reviews
Record Collector (magazine) (p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t oozed with class, from the flurries of key and guitar lines to the thunderous rhythm support and sleek harmonies."
Titles on disc 1
1.
Blank File
2.
My Land
3.
8th Commandment
4.
Replica
5.
Kingdom For A Heart
6.
FullMoon
7.
Letter To Dana
8.
Unopened
9.
Picturing The Past
10.
Destruction Preventer
11.
Mary-Lou ((Japanese bonus track))
Ciao
Listed on Ciao since
06/10/2008
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