Origin: Kemi, Finland  
Genres: Power Metal
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Last update/review: October 1, 2022

Sonata Arctica

Formed in Finland in 1996 (initially as a non-metal act known as Tricky Means), Sonata Arctica quickly established themselves as a power metal force with their debut, Ecliptica, and really hasn't looked back since. The style here is classic melodic Euro power metal, with their closest soundalike perhaps being countrymen Stratovarius. As with a lot of bands in this arena, Sonata Arctica score high points for presentation, musicianship, and overall class, with low marks for sheer originality -- as good as they are at what they do, it's hard to really say that they are a lot different from several other European bands playing this style. Thus, Sonata Arctica aren't about broadening the horizons of metal, but rather perfecting their art of crafting fine melodic speed metal tunes. They are among the best in their field, and highly recommended to those into bands such as the aforementioned Stratovarius or Gamma Ray.

Recent album: Clear Cold Beyond, released on March 8, 2024.

Current Members

Tony Kakko

vocals/keyboards

Elias Viljanen

guitars

Pasi Kauppinen

bass

Henrik Klingenberg

keyboards

Tommy Portimo

drums

Former Members/Guests

Jani Liimatainen

guitars (Cain's Offering)

Janne Kivilahti

bass

Marko Paasikoski

bass

Mikko Härkin

keyboards (ex-Cain's Offering, ex-Kenziner, guest for Solution .45)


Discography



Ecliptica  
1999 Century Media
  1. Blank File
  2. My Land
  3. 8th Commandment
  4. Replica
  5. Kingdom Fo A Heart
  6. Fullmoon
  7. Letter To Dana
  8. Unopened
  9. Picturing The Past
  10. Destruction Preventer
  11. Mary-Lou (Japanese bonus)
  • Tony Kakko
  • Jani Liimatainen
  • Janne Kivilahti
  • Tommy Portimo
1999 Readers' Album #66



Successor  EP
2000 Century Media
  1. Fullmoon (edit)
  2. Still Loving You
  3. I Want Out
  4. San Sebastian
  5. Shy
  6. Replica (live)
  7. My Land (live)
  8. Unopened (live)
  9. Fullmoon (live)
  10. 8th Commandment (live)
  11. Letter To Dana (live)
  12. Kingdom For A Heart (live)
  • Tony Kakko
  • Jani Liimatainen
  • Janne Kivilahti
  • Mikko Härkin
  • Tommy Portimo


Silence  
2001 Century Media
  1. ... Of Silence
  2. Weballergy
  3. False News Travel Fast
  4. The End Of This Chapter
  5. Black Sheep
  6. Land Of The Free
  7. Last Drop Falls
  8. San Sebastian (revisited)
  9. Sing In Silence
  10. Revontulet
  11. Tallulah
  12. Wolf & Raven
  13. Respect The Wilderness (Japanese bonus)
  14. The Power Of One
  • Tony Kakko
  • Jani Liimatainen
  • Marko Paasikoski
  • Mikko Härkin
  • Tommy Portimo


Orientation  EP
2001 Avalon/Marquee
  1. Black Sheep
  2. Mary-Lou (acoustic version)
  3. The Wind Beneath My Wings
  4. Die With Your Boots On
  • Tony Kakko
  • Jani Liimatainen
  • Marko Paasikoski
  • Mikko Härkin
  • Tommy Portimo


Songs Of Silence  LIVE
2002 Century Media
  1. Intro
  2. Weballergy
  3. Kingdom For A Heart
  4. Sing In Silence
  5. False News Travel Fast
  6. Last Drop Falls
  7. Respect The Wilderness
  8. Fullmoon
  9. The End Of This Chapter
  10. The Power Of One
  11. Replica
  12. My Land
  13. Black Sheep
  14. Wolf & Raven
  15. Blank File
  16. Land Of The Free
  17. Peacemaker
  • Tony Kakko
  • Jani Liimatainen
  • Marko Paasikoski
  • Mikko Härkin
  • Tommy Portimo
2002 Readers' Album #89



Winterheart's Guild  
2003 Century Media
  1. Abandoned, Pleased, Brainwashed and Exploited
  2. Graven Image
  3. The Cage
  4. Silver Tongue
  5. The Misery
  6. Victoria.s Secret
  7. Champagne Bath
  8. Broken
  9. The Rest of The Sun Belongs to Me (Japanese bonus track)
  10. The Ruins of My Life Draw Me
  • Tony Kakko
  • Jani Liimatainen
  • Marko Paasikoski
  • Henrik Klingenberg
  • Tommy Portimo


Takatalvi  EP
2003 Avalon/Marquee
  1. San Sebastian (original version)
  2. The Gun
  3. Still Loving You
  4. Shy
  5. Dream Thieves
  6. I Want Out
  7. Fade To Black
  • Tony Kakko
  • Jani Liimatainen
  • Marko Paasikoski
  • Henrik Klingenberg
  • Tommy Portimo
2003 Readers' Album #34



Reckoning Night  
2004 Nuclear Blast
  1. Misplaced
  2. Blinded No More
  3. Ain´t Your Fairytale
  4. Reckoning Day, Reckoning Night
  5. Don´t Say A Word
  6. The Boy Who Wanted To Be A Real Puppet
  7. My Selene
  8. Wildfire
  9. White Pearl, Black Oceans
  10. Shamandalie
  11. Wrecking The Sphere (bonus track)
  • Tony Kakko
  • Jani Liimatainen
  • Marko Paasikoski
  • Henrik Klingenberg
  • Tommy Portimo
2004 Readers' Album #39



For The Sake Of Revenge  
2006 Nuclear Blast
  1. Intro (Prelude For Reckoning)
  2. Misplaced
  3. Blinded No More
  4. FullMoon / White Pearl Black Oceans...
  5. Victoria's Secret
  6. Broken
  7. 8th Commandment
  8. Shamandalie
  9. Kingdom For A Heart
  10. Replica
  11. My Land
  12. Black Sheep
  13. Gravenimage
  14. Don't Say A Word
  15. The Cage
  16. Vodkaa (Hava Nagila)
  17. San Sebastian (bonus track)
  • Tony Kakko
  • Jani Liimatainen
  • Marko Paasikoski
  • Henrik Klingenberg
  • Tommy Portimo
2006 Readers' Album #82



Unia  
2007 Nuclear Blast
  1. In Black And White
  2. Paid In Full
  3. For The Sake Of Revenge
  4. It Won't Fade
  5. Under Your Tree
  6. Caleb
  7. The Vice
  8. My Dream's But A Drop Of Fuel For A Nightmare
  9. The Harves
  10. To Create A Warlike Feel (bonus track)
  11. The Worlds Forgotten, The Words Forbidden
  12. Fly With The Black Swan
  13. Good Enough Is Good Enough
  14. They Follow (bonus track)
  15. Out In The Fields
  • Tony Kakko
  • Jani Liimatainen
  • Marko Paasikoski
  • Henrik Klingenberg
  • Tommy Portimo
2007 Readers' Album #65



The Days Of Grays  
2009 Nuclear Blast
  1. Everything Fades To Gray
  2. Deathaura
  3. The Last Amazing Grays
  4. Flag In The Ground
  5. Breathing
  6. Zeroes
  7. The Dead Skin
  8. Juliet
  9. No Dream Can Heal A Broken Heart
  10. As If The World Wasn't Ending
  11. The Truth Is Out There
  12. Everything Fades To Gray (full version)
  • Tony Kakko
  • Elias Viljanen
  • Marko Paasikoski
  • Henrik Klingenberg
  • Tommy Portimo
2009 Readers' Album #80



Live In Finland  VIDEO
2011


Stones Grow Her Name  
2012 Nuclear Blast
  1. Only The Broken Hearts (Make You Beautiful)
  2. Shitload of Money
  3. Losing My Insanity
  4. Somewhere Close To You
  5. I Have A Right
  6. Alone In Heaven
  7. The Day
  8. Cinderblox
  9. Don't Be Mean
  10. Wildfire II
  11. Wildfire III
  • Tony Kakko
  • Elias Viljanen
  • Marko Paasikoski
  • Henrik Klingenberg
  • Tommy Portimo


Pariah's Child  
2014 Nuclear Blast
  1. The Wolves Die Young
  2. Running Lights
  3. Take One Breath
  4. Cloud Factory
  5. Blood
  6. What Did You Do In The War, Dad?
  7. Half A Marathon Man
  8. X Marks The Spot
  9. Love
  10. Larger Than Life
  • Tony Kakko
  • Elias Viljanen
  • Pasi Kauppinen
  • Henrik Klingenberg
  • Tommy Portimo
2014 Readers' Album #51



Ecliptica - Revisited  
2014 Nuclear Blast
  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
  • Tony Kakko
  • Elias Viljanen
  • Pasi Kauppinen
  • Henrik Klingenberg
  • Tommy Portimo


The Ninth Hour  
2016 Nuclear Blast
  1. Closer to an Animal
  2. Life
  3. Fairytale
  4. We Are What We Are
  5. Till Death's Done Us Apart
  6. Among the Shooting Stars
  7. Rise a Night
  8. Fly, Navigate, Communicate
  9. Candle Lawns
  10. White Pearl, Black Oceans (Part II: By the Grace of the Ocean)
  11. On the Faultline (Closure to an Animal)
  • Tony Kakko
  • Elias Viljanen
  • Pasi Kauppinen
  • Henrik Klingenberg
  • Tommy Portimo


Talvijö  
2019 Nuclear Blast
  1. Message from the Sun
  2. Whirlwind
  3. Cold
  4. Storm the Armada
  5. The Last of the Lambs
  6. Who Failed the Most
  7. Ismo's Got Good Reactors
  8. Demon's Cage
  9. A Little Less Understanding
  10. The Raven Still Flies with You
  11. The Garden
  • Tony Kakko
  • Elias Viljanen
  • Pasi Kauppinen
  • Henrik Klingenberg
  • Tommy Portimo


Acoustic Adventures - Volume One  
2022 Nuclear Blast
  1. The Rest of the Sun Belongs to Me
  2. For the Sake of Revenge
  3. A Little Less Understanding
  4. Alone in Heaven
  5. Tallulah
  6. Don't Say a Word
  7. As If the World Wasn't Ending
  8. Paid in Full
  9. Tonight I Dance Alone
  10. The Wolves Die Young
  11. Wolf & Raven
  12. On the Faultline
  • Tony Kakko
  • Elias Viljanen
  • Pasi Kauppinen
  • Henrik Klingenberg
  • Tommy Portimo


Acoustic Adventures - Volume Two  
2022 Atomic Fire
  1. I Have a Right
  2. Black Sheep
  3. Half a Marathon Man
  4. Broken
  5. Letter to Dana
  6. FullMoon
  7. Shamandalie
  8. San Sebastian
  9. Gravenimage
  10. Flag in the Ground
  11. My Land
  12. Victoria's Secret
  • Tony Kakko
  • Elias Viljanen
  • Pasi Kauppinen
  • Henrik Klingenberg
  • Tommy Portimo


Clear Cold Beyond  
2024 Atomic Fire
  1. First in Line
  2. California
  3. Shah Mat
  4. Dark Empath
  5. Cure for Everything
  6. A Monster Only You Can't See
  7. Teardrops
  8. Angel Defiled
  9. The Best Things
  10. Clear Cold Beyond
  11. A Ballad for the Broken
  12. Toy Soldiers (Martika cover)
  • Tony Kakko
  • Elias Viljanen
  • Pasi Kauppinen
  • Henrik Klingenberg
  • Tommy Portimo



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