SONATA ARCTICA Frontman Tony Kakko - "We Won?t Be Going Back To Our Old (Musical) Direction"

Comments

1. such a shame....they were so good only a few years ago and now sound so light. i undterstand that they got out of that style, but that's what made them famous. while gaining a newer audience, im sure they lost alott of there old audience, including myself.

   Giorgio wrote on 20.11.2009 at 22:47

2. =(.. I hate this kind of news!!.. and I hate when he (kakko) says that.. and I agree with giorgio!! =/

   MQ! wrote on 21.11.2009 at 00:21

3. Uhm...kid you're wrong a lot of peope listened to unia and loved it. It also made the new fans go back an listen to the older albums I personally think unia is a great album not better than silence or ecliptica but up there, you sir are just like every other kid who likes power metal if you can't enjoy music like this sir than I feel bad for you an may god have mercy on your soul

   badass wrote on 21.11.2009 at 03:23

4. I have to say, I was a little disappointed in The Days of Grays. Yes, it was good, but it wans't like the stuff that got me into Sonata: Full Moon, Don't Say a Word, the old speed metal songs. Zeroes was good, and so was Flag in the Ground, but the rest of the songs weren't of the same caliber, it seems.

   TheVoiceInYourHead wrote on 21.11.2009 at 03:39

5. I don't like that new album at all.
   
   They were really good in Reckoning night and after it.

   arska wrote on 21.11.2009 at 10:39

6. Progressive and symphonic, is their new direction. Bad idea. :-(
   Neither a serious competition, for the big names in the progressive genre, nor they can hold a candle to NW, on the symphonic front. Double fail.
   SA were on top of their game, in the power metal realm, and they should've stick with it.

   DeadAndGone wrote on 21.11.2009 at 11:40

7. What the hell are you saying people??? Time goes by, the world changes and music evolves. The Days of the Grays is a great album, I think it`s even better than Unia.
   
   I`m Totally agree with Badass. If you can`t enjoy this music, you`re too closed-minded. Sonata Arctica hasn`t lost their way at all. The essence is always the same, but expressed in a whole new way.
   
   I really love this new album. And if you people do not want it, you can send Sonata Arctica to my country. There`s a lot of people here in Venezuela who loves the album too.

   Rockma wrote on 21.11.2009 at 16:15

8. To Rockma, lots of people started listening to SA because of their strong energetic power metal songs. That and Tony can sing very, very well with that style. Unfortunately for some people we did not start listening to SA to hear them make soft progressive metal.

   meep wrote on 21.11.2009 at 18:52

9. well I think it's great they decide to move on. not that their old albums were bad. I love them and I'll listen to them all my life, and I'm sure they'll go on playing the old songs live. but I think averybody need a change, to grow... and well, we all know not everebody is pleased with the way everyone grows. but that's the way it has to be. and, anyway, though I didin't particularly like Unia (except maybe a couple of songs), I like the days of grays very much...
   and... rockma, I agree with you. and I have no problem in their beeing in Venezuela as long as they visit Argentina more often :P

   lube wrote on 21.11.2009 at 19:05

10. They haven't change anything. Everything they have done sounds the same.Year after year.

    What u complain wrote on 21.11.2009 at 20:34

11. Going more progressive and symphonic doesn't necessarily mean going softer and slower at all. See Epica. They kick ass now like they never did before.

    Almagest wrote on 21.11.2009 at 20:53

12. There's only so much you can do with power metal. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of power metal as a whole... I just always loved the way Sonata Arctica did it, but it was a combination of both the sound, the lyrics and Tony's vocals. I do think, though, that eventually, it'll all start sounding the same. I don't think it's the worst thing in the world for a band to change, because... well, writing the same album over and over again can get tiring and music is about expressing creativity, so I can see where the urge to grow and expand comes from.
    
    I adore "The Days of Grays". After my second listen through, I was hooked, and I find the more I listen to it, the more I love the songs. Sure, some of the music's different, but some of the new sounds just make it sound so interesting, and Tony's vocals and lyrics are still the same, that hasn't changed. Part of the reason I love Sonata Arctica is their ability to tell a story in a song, and that hasn't changed. I'll admit I wasn't a huge fan of Unia because only a few songs struck out at me, but then, I haven't listened to it much since its release and if I put my own effort into it, I'm sure I'd find more to like about it, though the 3-4 songs I do listen to, I love.
    
    Plus, they always play the old Sonata Arctica epics like "Fullmoon", "The Cage", and "8th Commandment" at their shows. :) So it's not like they've just abandoned their older material. So I don't know, I'm happy if the band is happy, that's pretty much all there is to it for me.
    
    And I'll have to agree with Almagest, Epica's new album is, well, epic. ;)

    Arcana wrote on 21.11.2009 at 22:57

13. If I wanna listen progressive metal, I prefer to listen other groups, not Sonata Arctica.
    
    I agree 100% with meep
    
    

    Blackhearted wrote on 21.11.2009 at 23:01

14. Well I personally think it's good that Sonata is moving in a new direction musically. Bands should be allowed to experiment! I mean, do you really want the same old stock power metal songs all the time? It would get old after a while!

    Vern wrote on 21.11.2009 at 23:02

15. The Days of Grays is by far the best album of 2009 so far.
    Almost every power metal band sounds the same nowadays, I am glad that one of my favorite bands isn't among that crap anymore (as much as I like their early stuff).
    
    

    Andriy wrote on 21.11.2009 at 23:16

16. You can do quite a lot with power metal. There are plenty of prog-power metal bands who bring an interesting twist to the genre, spicing the "orderly" PM mold and its beautiful melodies and pseudo-classical/symphonic parts with proggy "chaos". What is still missing, though, is avant-garde power metal. That's something that could really bring a breath of fresh air to the genre. Luca Turilli's solo albums have some really unexpected (mind the pun :-p( moments, but that's the closest I've ever come across.

    Almagest wrote on 22.11.2009 at 07:30

17. One can only do power metal for so long, especially the kind of power metal SA does. In time, the albums would soon become stale. SA did the right thing by pulling out before reaching that point.

    Jeremy wrote on 22.11.2009 at 09:13

18. I think that the best album this year is Epica's Design your universe.
    And I really like the song they did with Tony. Two of the best voices together!
    
    I haven't heard Sonata's new one, but I must say I prefer their first albums to the later ones. I think Tony's voice showed off better in the old songs, and I really think he's one of the best singers since Freddy Mercury. And I don't even like power metal that much, it was always the melodies of sonata Arctica that made me start to like them. Actually they are the band that made me start to listen to metal. I'm a bit disappointed that they haven't stayed my favourites.

    Faor wrote on 22.11.2009 at 13:06

19. I have a Sonata Arctica playlist on my Playstation, with all of thier songs in it. I put it on random, and every song fits in so well with the song before, it doesn't matter which order they come in. Give it a try.

    Kaktus wrote on 22.11.2009 at 13:10

20. I love that he doesn't apologize or feel bad for having lost a lot of old fans... I mean, he changed his sound and seems proud of it, instead of taking himself back and go back the old style just to please other people. That takes some balls, which I respect a lot.
    
    I like both sounds of Sonata, although in either case they seem to be a tad repetitive (most of their fast songs were very similar, most of their progressive songs are too). But as long as they keep coming back with the same good lyrics, and Tony's powerful vocals, I can deal with whatever the music sounds like.

    Blackwood wrote on 22.11.2009 at 15:22

21. to "thevoiceinyourhead"
    lol SA were never speed metal they were power metal...
    again another news article where people are writing negative *yawns* personally id say theyve matured greatly and taken a bigger step in an epic musical direction
    good on em
    hope tony feels well enough for the london gig!
    

    Jack UK wrote on 22.11.2009 at 19:36

22. I started listening to SA just this summer. A friend of mine played a few songs with them, and I was totally in love. These guys are THE best metal band in the world. Of course I had to listen to both the old and the new stuff, and I loved it all. When Days of Grays was released I ordered it and no, yet again, I was not disappointed. Yes, it is a lot different from the old stuff, but it´s brilliant. To have the guts to take that step and make a change, that makes me respect them even more. So Tony...keep writing from your heart, and I will always love your music.

    Sussi wrote on 22.11.2009 at 23:31

23. Jack UK: Melodic speed metal, not plain speed metal. Nothing describes the music Sonata used to do more precisely than that. ;-) Power metal is a bit of a misnomer if you think of it. It really fits the American style better.

    Almagest wrote on 24.11.2009 at 01:26

24. Though ... I do get a lot of power from all kinds of power metal. And that's why I love it so much. :-)

    Almagest wrote on 24.11.2009 at 01:28

25. I can see how this can be very difficult for the fans of Sonata Arctica going in a new direction musically. But at the same time, I think it's good that the band changes it up a little in order to make it sound different from the rest of their material, even though it isn't the same style. I agree with most here.. If SA wrote Silence or Reckoning Night over and over again, fans will grow tired of songs that sound the same. Look at DragonForce.. They seem to fit that mold of the same song style time and time again. SA realises that they need to make changes, but it's HOW they change is what can either help or hurt a band. It seems that SA is making the right move, even though they still haven't perfected their newer style yet.

    James wrote on 24.11.2009 at 08:55

26. At the risk of starting the kind of flame fights that usually come up whenever Dragonforce is mentioned, I'd like to ask a question of you all. Early SA albums have had a very big influence on Dragonforce's work. You don't know how many times my friends hear "Blank File" and say, "Is that Dragonforce?" The two are linked together quite a bit, and both bands have cited Stratovarius as inspiration.
    
    So why are many SA fans asking for more albums like Ecliptica while DF gets the whole "every song sounds the same" criticism? Of course, SA fans aren't necessarily DF fans, but their music is similar, yet they get very different reception.

    Jeremy wrote on 24.11.2009 at 11:00

27. Jeremy said:
    
    "At the risk of starting the kind of flame fights that usually come up whenever Dragonforce is mentioned, I'd like to ask a question of you all. Early SA albums have had a very big influence on Dragonforce's work."
    
    Really? I didn't know that. Do you have a link where they say that?
    
    "You don't know how many times my friends hear "Blank File" and say, "Is that Dragonforce?" The two are linked together quite a bit, and both bands have cited Stratovarius as inspiration."
    
    I didn't know that either, but that just goes to show how little I actually know about DF. XD
    
    "So why are many SA fans asking for more albums like Ecliptica while DF gets the whole "every song sounds the same" criticism? Of course, SA fans aren't necessarily DF fans, but their music is similar, yet they get very different reception."
    
    Well, I for one don't hate DF at all. In fact, I enjoy at least some of their songs - especially Through the Fire and Flames - very much. And I'm a fan of Ecliptica. (I've listened only once to Unia and The Days of Grays and not particularly attentively I haven't really formed an opinion yet. I have to admit that I didn't really find them intriguing at first impression.)
    
    I'm annoyed by the DF bashing equally much as by the fanboying, because even if DF's songwriting leaves something to desire, which is why I wouldn't ever put Li and Totman (at least regarding their work in DF) on the level of Petrucci and other guitar heroes/virtuosos, the members of DF definitely do have talent - even if they do not make the most out of it.
    
    In fact, I think a lot of people hate them more because of ZP's vocals than the music itself. XD
    
    You know what? On Wikipedia, I've seen a metalhead complain about DF's use of the description "extreme power metal" (actually calling them "some stupid band") and then go on to name bands "such as Demoniac, Children of Bodom, Norther, Wintersun and Frozen Eternity" as having played the style "for several years". Demoniac were a black metal band from Auckland, New Zealand, who over time integrated more and more outrageous power-metal-style solos into their music. Now guess the names of the two guitarists of Demoniac.
    
    Right, Herman Li and Sam Totman.
    
    ROTFL.
    
    Self-owned.
    
    Now, if that's not proof that some metalheads are SERIOUSLY prejudiced against DF just because they don't use harsh lead vocals (or at least a gruffer style like Symphony X), or because of their polished production, or some other lame, superficial reason, I really don't know.
    
    But then, a lot of people hate or bash (especially the European style of) power metal for no overly compelling reason at all.

    Almagest wrote on 28.11.2009 at 01:15

28. "In fact, I think a lot of people hate them more because of ZP's vocals than the music itself. XD"
    
    I meant the rest of the music of course, since vocals are part of the music, too. :-p
    
    In both DF and (early) Sonata, I like the vocals and vocal melodies but the part of the music that I enjoy best are the instrumental melodies and their overall sound. I'm really a sucker for that sound where EVERYTHING is high-pitched and melodic. Queen being a sort of template for the style I suppose.
    
    BTW, I've always said that Ecliptica sounds a lot like it could be played on the radio - it's insanely catchy - but I suppose that would be eighties (oriented) radio because mainstream tastes nowadays are different. Again, Queen come to mind with their finely crafted but quite catchy and radio-compatible melodic hard rock and I know that they have been a big influence on Tony.
    
    I love the early Dream Theater albums for their eighties sound, too (especially the debut sounds ridiculously eighties-like, but then, it IS from the eighties), but here you see that while this "light" sounding style of metal is easier to listen to for many people, it doesn't necessarily make the music safe. Even Sonata's and DF's music are a little bit extreme in some ways (lengths of songs and instrumental passages) for actual airplay.

    Almagest wrote on 28.11.2009 at 01:38

29. @ Almagest
    
    "BTW, I've always said that Ecliptica sounds a lot like it could be played on the radio - it's insanely catchy - but I suppose that would be eighties (oriented) radio because mainstream tastes nowadays are different."
    
    Man, that would be a breath of fresh air if I could hear some SA on the radio here in America. The radio airwaves here are dominated by too much pop and rap music! Well I know FullMoon could easily be a radio hit in America, maybe 20 years ago.. today, people would laugh at it and call it stupid 80's rock/metal, but who cares what they think.. Finnish metal FTW! m/

    James wrote on 28.11.2009 at 23:08