Musical Evolution Necessarily a Bad Thing for Sonata Arctica?

Anyone who knows me or at least has been around me for a small amount of time knows how much of a fan of Sonata Arctica I am.


The band from the small town of Kemi,  Finland has been a source of my entertainment for quite awhile since I first heard their 2001 album Silence.


However, there is much debate as to the current path that the band has taken over the past three albums or so, and with a new album set for release this May, the arguments are coming in full force.

When Sonata Arctica released their first album back in 1999, Ecliptica, the group was praised for an amazing album. It had everything a great power metal album should have and to top it off, Tony Kakko's vocal range was phenomenal. Fans ate up the music and the band eventually released 3 more speedy Power Metal albums, Silence, Winterheart's Guild, and Reckoning Night. These albums all pleased fans while sticking too the same formula. 


The debate arose in 2007 with the release of the band's 5th album, Unia. This album was generally well received by critics and was praised for the fantastic songwriting, but the fans were confused. The sound had changed to a more progressive sound
that was slower than their older songs. This is where the argument comes in. 


I am honestly of the opinion that musical evolution is normally a good thing. Most bands go through it eventually and usually for the better. So why is there all this hate flying around? One of the arguments I hear all the time is the new guitarist Elias Viljanen. Viljanen took over guitar duties in 2007 after Jani Liimatainen parted ways with the band. Jani was a talented guitarist and many fans cried foul upon his departure. Elias quickly became the blame for the new musical direction by the fans. I will point out that after seeing Sonata Arctica live both with Jani and Elias and I have to say that the latter is a better guitarist. He might not have as much of a stage presence, but he brings a level of professionalism to the band that most guitarists don't. He didn't get much of a chance to demonstrate his talents on the 2009 album The Days of Grays due to lack of guitar solos, another point of debate between fans. Another thing that seems to be central in the arguments is lack of variety. I will shoot that down immediately as the past two albums have shown more variety than any of the others combined.


Without going into too much detail on this, I feel that the progression Sonata Arctica is showing is good for the band. They may not be as fast as they used to be, but the music is just as heavy as it's always been and the lyrics are just as good as ever, if not better. It may take a few listens, but their music is still just as good and I feel a bit more emotion in the music. They can convey their messages in new ways that separate them from other bands in the genre. 


I'll leave you to decide which one is better for you as they have just released the new music video off of their new album Stones Grow Her Name due in May. Regardless of the various debates it is obvious that the band likes the new progression and they are sticking with it.