Sonata Arctica - Don't Say A Word
Nuclear Blast
Melodic Speed Metal
4 songs (17'28)
Release year: 2004
Sonata Arctica, Nuclear Blast
Reviewed by Ben

So here we are with the first single to Finnish metal stars Sonata Arctica’s forthcoming album Reckoning Night. I approach this single with a bit of trepidation however. For the first time since hearing this band way back in 1999 with their UnOpened single, I am not near as excited as I used to be. UnOpened, and later Ecliptica ruled my world for a whole year, I could not go anywhere without playing Blank File, My Land, Replica, hell, the whole album. I remember when Silence was released I was as giddy as a school girl upon receiving the album in the mail and I was almost hyper ventilating as I proceeded to pop that bad boy in my stereo. When Winterheart’s Guild came out, the excitement was still there, but honestly, it was a bit more subdued than before. Granted, the album was a killer to these ears, that’s why it came in at number two on my top fifteen list of 2003 but it was the beginning of the end of innocence for this band.

This feeling of lost excitement can be attributed to the fact that Sonata Arctica are no longer “my” band, they aren’t the new comers to the scene that they used to be. There are several bands that I hold dearly to my heart that are still relatively new, they have less than three albums and when new music of theirs is unveiled you can bet I will be right there to be the first to hear it. I have noticed however, that when these bands get to their fourth long player, the former excitement is replaced with the feeling that they are now an “established” act, they aren’t the fresh and new “came out of nowhere to kick my ass” band that they used to be, and when that happens some of the magic that made them appeal to me so long ago is gone. Since Sonata are going on five, almost six years now in existence, they have to push even harder to keep their place on the top of the Finnish Melodic Metal pile that they are currently on. The songs on Don’t Say a Word are very nice, they aren’t bad songs by any means, yet after taking this for a few spins, I feel that they will never write another UnOpened, nor will they recreate the youthful and exuberant energy found on San Sebastian ever again. Instead what we have on this single are two speedy tracks from Reckoning Night, that while still retain the Sonata Arctica penchant for catchy fast tunes, they still leave me wanting, backed by two covers for good measure.

Opener Don’t Say a Word begins with a chunky riff and some heavy sounding keys before Tony begins to sing, and when he opens his mouth I notice that the delivery of the verses is still passionate, yet a bit more subdued. However, when he gets to the bridge and the chorus he belts out the infectious hook melody without holding back and then proceeds to go into a silent soft sung passage with some airy atmospheric keys. Guitar wise this is relatively simple until of course the keyboard / guitar tradeoff where Henrik and Jani do their thing. As for this being Henrik’s “official” debut (the unreleased songs on the Broken single were written years before) he does an admirable job replacing the wonderchild Mikko Harkin. Ain’t Your Fairytale is in my opinion better than Don’t Say a Word for these reasons. First off, Tony gives a much more involved performance here, I really like the more complex vocal melodies on this particular track. The verses and the chorus segue into each other seamlessly, which makes for a different listen but an enjoyable one. There is also a breakdown section in this song as well with some heavy meaty riffing and a layered “woah” passage before getting back to the main theme of the track.

The first cover here World In My Eye’s is a very electronic and danceable song which comes as no surprise as this was originally done by Depeche Mode. This is nice for a few listens because of the different sound that it pertains but after about three or four times through I find myself skipping this one. Two Minds, One Soul was written and performed by Vanishing Point back on their Tangled In Dream album and seeing as how Vanishing Point is one of those bands that I hold near and dear as mentioned by my opening paragraphs, I was actually a bit skeptical about this choice of a cover rather than excited. Being one of the best songs off the cd Sonata Arctica had a lot to live up to in order to convince me. I will give Sonata props though for “Sonatasizing” this particular track and not doing a straight cover. The guitar tone is much deeper and heavier than the original version and the keyboards are more static and are shaper as well. Because Tony doesn’t have the smooth and rich bass voice of Silvio Massero, he at first sounds a little awkward if you are used to the original recording but I quickly adjusted to his voice before dismissing him completely. The chorus however doesn’t roll as smoothly, Tony just can’t deliver the silky and sleek phrasing that Massero can. A nice effort but the original is by far the superior recording, I highly advise everyone out there to check out Vanishing Point post haste.

As a teaser, Don’t Say a Word does get the listener ready for Reckoning Night. The title track is a typical pre release single Sonata Arctica song and Ain’t Your Fairytale is the album’s The Cage it seems like. As Reckoning Night isn’t being released until October, you would do well to pick this one up even if it isn’t the best that Sonata has to offer, it is still better than a lot of the other shit out there. If you’re like me and keep holding out to hear UnOpened part two though, you’re going to be waiting for a long time.

Killing Songs :
Ain't Your Fairytale, Don't Say A Word, Two Minds, One Soul
Ben quoted no quote
Other albums by Sonata Arctica that we have reviewed:
Sonata Arctica - The Ninth Hour reviewed by Jared and quoted 70 / 100
Sonata Arctica - Pariah's Child reviewed by Joel and quoted 85 / 100
Sonata Arctica - Stones Grow Her Name reviewed by Cory and quoted 71 / 100
Sonata Arctica - The Days Of Grays reviewed by Elias and quoted 95 / 100
Sonata Arctica - Unia reviewed by Chris and quoted 55 / 100
To see all 15 reviews click here
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