Sonata Arctica Albums Ranked

Sonata Arctica is a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, Finland. Created as a hard rock band named Tricky Beans, they later changed to Tricky Means and finally to Sonata Arctica, when they shifted to power metal. The current line-up consists of singer, keyboardist, and songwriter Tony Kakko, guitarist Elias Viljanen, bass guitarist Pasi Kauppinen, keyboardist, and keytarist Henrik Klingenberg, and drummer Tommy Portimo. All the musicians of the band’s history except Portimao also acted as backing vocalists. As of 2019, the band has released ten full-length albums (three via Spinefarm Records and seven via Nuclear Blast), their most recent being Talviyö on September 6, 2019. Here are all of the Sonata Arctica albums ranked.

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10. The Ninth Hour (2016)

“If you’re looking for speedy Stratovarius style power metal – then I would go listen to Stratovarius. Tony Kakko and Sonata Arctica have moved on (for now) with this their ninth album. Still some melodic power metal influence but also plenty of progressive rock and even Queen style pomp rock. Post power metal maybe? Granted it takes a few listens but well worth the trouble.”

9. Takatalvi (2003)

“Sonata Arctica may not be the fastest, the most progressive, or the “hardest” power metal act out there, but when you put everything they do together, they really are the best of all worlds. I’m a hard-core S.A. junkie who loves them both live and in the studio, and I jumped at the chance to snag more of their tracks. That’s what this EP delivers: more of the stuff that makes S.A. traffic-stoppingly great. Of special interest to serious fans is the track “Shy”, which continues the “Dana” romantic story arc. It’s also great to hear S.A. covering some of the greats, especially the vintage Helloween track “I Want Out”. A definite must for S.A. devotees or people interested in getting a taste of what all the hype is about.”

8. Talviyö (2019)

“Talviyö, the follow-up to The Ninth Hour and the tenth Sonata Arctica album, seems to be receiving the same kind of scorn from people still on-board with the band’s antics, and once again I can’t help but express my puzzlement over this. Does the problem lie in the fact that the band doesn’t really pass for power metal anymore? Should the melodies be more in-your-face? Because this album, like The Ninth Hour, excels in more understated melodies and a good deal of atmosphere. There’s not much in the way of the brisk, upbeat bursts of power metal the band defined their early career with, but the album isn’t all slow mood music either.”

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7. For The Sake Of Revenge (2006)

“The crowd is really into it the whole way through, greatly due to Tony Kakko’s onstage energy. Every song is worth a listen, because even if it’s not one of your favorites, it’s great on this album. I felt like I was there when I listened to this.”

6. Successor (2000)

“I’m actually not a huge metal fan, but Sonata Arctica amazed me from the first time i listened to them. first there was Ecliptica, and after that, the minute i saw there was another album, i rushed to get it… The covers are all better then the original one’s. and the live acts are really good. great CD if you like metal and even greater if you just getting to know metal. the solos are great and the music is nice and melodic. In short: it’s worth the money”

5. Winterheart’s Guild (2003)

“This is an excellent album from Sonata Arctica. Some of my personal favorite songs by them are on here and the record flows very well. Not only that but the progressive aspects of the band started really shining through on this record making it, for me anyway, a grower. I wasn’t super into it when it came out, but after several listens I was completely hooked.”

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4. Pariah’s Child (2014)

“Pariah’s Child blends their trademark melodious power metal with their later prog experimenting, but the focus seems to be foremost on recapturing a little bit of that old Sonata magic. They’ve certainly got the songs to back them up this time – “Take One Breath” and “Blood” might be the best stuff they’ve ever done. The other songs are consistently great as well, especially “Cloud Factory” and “Half A Marathon Man”, the former being a somewhat misplaced hard-rock song that threw me off at first, but ended up being awesome.”

3. Reckoning Night (2004)

“This album has a different texture from the previous ones thanks to the heavy use of slick rock organs and modern synth sounds instead of harpsichords and such. The production is also low-mid heavy and darkens the sound further. So even when Sonata Arctica dish out a classic high energy power metal song, it doesn’t sound quite the same as it did on the first two albums. Not saying it’s bad – more accurately you could describe the songs lacking some of the minty fresh winter vibe that was prevalent in older Sonata Arctica.”

2. Silence (2001)

“Some complain that power metal lacks depth, however this music proves that the genre can be sophisticated, and still emotionally powerful and catchy. Probably Sonata’s most progressive album of the classic era, this will keep you in a constant state of bliss, which is what this kind of metal is about, rather than being brutal.”

1. Ecliptica (1999)

“Sonata Arctica live in a castle made of candy that rests in the heavens. They spend all day picking and eating gumdrops from the trees that surround their castle. They ride unicorns and play power metal all day, honing their skill in order to bring only the most magical and mystical stentorian symphonies to you. Then, at last, when they are tired they sleep on beds made of clouds ‘neath sheets spun from angel’s hair and dream of even more wonderous songs to weave for the mortals below.”