Metal Reviews

It's harder for a Power Metal band to initially impress me as much as a Black Metal band, but I have to say that when I picked up "Ecliptica" a couple days ago to satisfy my Power Metal craving that comes up every now and then, I have to say that I was extremely impressed by it. I can say without the shadow of a doubt that 'FullMoon' is one of the best Power Metal songs I've ever heard.

Now I'm wondering which Sonata Arctica album I should get next, and if there are any other bands similar in style and quality to them, let me know.

Hey... Sonata Arctica is really great band... I would get "Silence" next if i were you.. All there releases a great, thought they seem to drop a tiny bit from album to album, with each release... I cant really think of a band with the samme sound and quality as SA... Many copycats thought..

Definitly get Sonata Arctica - "Silence."

Silence sounds more like Ecliptica than any of their other releases, but it is still different - the keyboard presence is much higher. Ecliptica is their best work. The third album, Winterheart's Guild is one that I really like but it is very different to the first two albums - the guitar acts almost soley as a rhythm instrument apart from the solos. As for the the fourth album, Reckoning Night.... :?

Sonata Arctica sure are a great band and they proved this so far with 4 albums.There is a steady fall of the quality of each next release so going for Silence and so forth is a good idea.

For similar bands, Sonata were heavily influenced by early Stratovarius.After their success many clone bands appeared, most of them average.Few examples are Requiem, Power Quest, first Twilightning, Celesty(one of the better clones along with Twilightning), Memorized Dreams.
You can also try Majestic, Last Tribe, Manigance, Mob Rules and Secret Sphere for speed/keyboard orientated power metal bands.
Still Sonata Arctica are probably the best.

Last Tribe is a really could band.... you should check "the uncrowned" out...

I actually rate Reckoning Night roughly the same as Ecliptica. But that was only after constant listening that I started liking it so much. There's a lot of good songs on Reckoning Night. 8)

As for Last Tribe, I really like their debut album, The Ritual.

That comment makes me want to puke all over myself.

You are more than welcome to.

I think that Reckoning Night has grown on me the last couple of times ive heard it, but its not even close to Ecliptica or Silence, those 2 albums are kick ass.

Same with me.Reckoning Night has grown much on me after many listens but i must say it's a bit different than the other albums.So i truly reccomend going from the 1st to the last album in order, just to hear the progression these guys made with each album and then decide which you like best.
As for me i like all their albums no matter how different and all got scores from 85 to 100, which doesn't really make any difference.

I'm worried what the next album will sound like. Some of Reckoning Night was just too commercial. The opening riff to Blinded No More is blatant pop.

And i think the next will be even more commercial.
All that fame and glory and those tours in Japan are going to be the downfall of this band.Sonata Arctica action figures for japan fans.
Some pop rock girlie japanese band that can't shake of that awful accent doing a cover of Wolf And Raven and Tony headbanging to it. :cry:

After checking this thread out, I decided to sample a few Sonata Arctica songs, and they are pretty good. I only wish the guitars would be mixed a little more forward.

You should check out Silence next than Reckoning Night those two are great albums very symphonic Metal. As for Winterheart's guild it's by far my least favorite too power metal for my tastes. The other 3 releases at least offer a mixed bag in terms of the speed of songs and they don't all sound the same like most do on WHG.

What is wrong with you guys!! Silence owns Ecliptica's ass!! The albums after Silence lose some energy but the melody is still there. For what they are doing nobody comes close to Sonata Arctica.

As a Sonata Arctica fan, i must agree that Silence would be the next logical step for you. I would also agree that they have dropped off very slightly with their last 2 albums, but overall they have been a very consistent band.
The comment about Blinded No More....i rekon that song is one of the best on the entire album.
And like Pyroman stated....if you want to hear a similar band, look no further than Twilightning, who have 2 extremely great albums under their belt and are quickly becoming one of the better power metal bands out there...

I had to revisit this thread after buying Reckoning Night because I think it's a really good album. It's definitely different than their previous albums, but I like the fact that the guitars are stronger in the mix. Plus, I think Tony's vocals sound especially good on it.

I will add my two cents, "FullMoon" is indeed one of the best power metal songs ever recorded!

I absolutely LOVE their cover of Scorpion's "Still Loving You." Aside from the "remake your love" lyric (it's "win back your love"), the song is amazing!

I also don't quite understand that some of the album sounds like "pop" to some. Considering the lack of ballads (unlike previous albums) and the overall heaviness of the mix, pop is the last thing that crossed my mind when listening to Reckoning Night.