LAST WEEKEND'S AMAZING HAZE

Last Saturday I found myself on a plane once again heading to the metalopolis of Helsinki, Finland. I've lost count of the number of times I've been there in recent months and this time was for something pretty special; to head to the stunning island fort of Suomenlinna to hear the brand new Sonata Arctica album 'The Days Of Grays'.
Those that know me, know how I would have felt about that particular assignment. For those that don't; you know those fans who camped outside The Staples Centre or Neverland when Jackson moonwalked off the mortal coil? – you know how much they must obsess over our dearly departed MJ? – that's almost on a level of how I feel about Finland's finest band with a Keytar, Sonata fucking Arctica.
I almost didn't take the assignment; I fretted over it for ages. How could I, a ridiculous fangirl save face in front of a band of whose logo I almost got tattooed on my neck (the tattooist was running late and I had a plane to catch – phew!) let alone act like the professional bastion of journalism that I usually am in front of a band I've maxed out credit cards for thanks to their blatant disregard of touring in the UK?
But I pulled myself together, after all, I'm mature I can handle this. As long as I lay off the copious booze these Finnish listening sessions tend to come part and parcel with. Composure, it's the key here. Sadly as soon as the listening session was underway so was Nuclear Blast's deplorable pressure tactics to make me drink.

Example:
Florian Fink (NB press officer): Louise, do you want a cider?
Louise: No I'm ok, oh actually, go on then.

Despicable!

Fast-forward a few hours and I'm clutching a half-filled bottle of Fanta that I'd topped up with vodka and I'm leaning on a grand piano singing 'Tallulah' with Tony and Henkka accompanying me in proper pub singalong style. You know that lush who smells of gin in the corner of every old English pub, the one who is on her fourth white wine spritzer and thinks she's Elaine Paige? Yeah, think along those lines.
A few hours later I'm waking up in my hotel room cringing.
Anyway to save myself I did manage to make some notes on the new album, one that surprisingly took me on a sonic journey through Sonata past and present. 'Unia', their last opus took a while to 'get', it didn't bolt out of the stable door and stampede your face off in the way 'Reckoning Night' did. But after sticking with it it suddenly grew as a cohesive whole, not a collection of hits like 'Winterhearts Guild' but an epic, sprawling concept. I was expecting much of the same from the new album, and prog-power-meets-Disney opener 'Everything Fades To Gray' cemented that for me. But as the album sped forth nuances of Sonata's bombastic chill came flooding back.

'THE DAYS OF GRAYS' TRACK BY TRACK

1. 'EVERYTHING FADES TO GRAY' (INSTRUMENTAL)
Fades to gray, huh? Not black? Have the band grown tired of their fan favourite cover of Metallica's least soppiest ballad? Previous Sonata albums have started in an in-your-face upbeat medley of concert-openers and single hits ('Misplaced', 'Abandoned, Pleased, Brainwashed, Exploited') but this starts with the type of piano-led Danny Elfman magic you'd expect them to close with (think 'Draw Me').

2. 'DEATHAURA'
The piano makes ways for orchestral bombast and now we're getting back to the grand illusions we've come to associate with Tony Kakko and co, especially when Dimmu-esque pomposity drops into haunting female vocals from Tony's latest jewel Johanna Kurkela. Gone is the trademark narration of Nik Van-Eckmann, this is this album's 'The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Real Puppet'. A brave move for an album opener with it's monolithic ambition and progressive complexity, prepare to spend some time with this one.

3. 'THE LAST AMAZING GRAYS'
Ah, this is more like the Sonata of old. A stand-out single, you can almost already picture the crowd singing this one back to the band on their upcoming tour. It's reminiscent of 'Paid In Full', that ridiculously anthemic and catchy bugger from 'Unia'.

4. 'FLAG IN THE GROUND'
This is where Sonata put their flag in the ground and take back the galloping power metal land they conquered with 'Winterhearts Guild', with a song that could be lovechild of 'The Cage' and 'Abandoned...'. This is high-octane stuff that will please their legions of old school fans.

5. 'BREATHING'
You gotta love a good ol' Sonata ballad. Tony's vocals are suited to real heartfelt melancholy like this and this is the first of ballad-tasticness on this album. This is lighter-waving badassness, let me see your best power ballad face. Take it away Elias – time to shine, oh yes, that solo is sonic sex. Welcome to the band!

6. 'ZEROES'
Ok, WTF? We all know Sonata's standout trademark is Tony's voice, so why play with perfection. 'Zeroes' goes and blasts a whole bunch of effects over the vocals and jumps headfirst into some spooky pop punk singalong action. Don't be dismayed though, the more you listen the more you start to appreciate a band willing to remain playful six albums in.

7. 'THE DEAD SKIN'
'The Dead Skin' continues with the vocal wizardry but the song itself is atypical Sonata-era 'Broken' karaoke-glory. Wait till I'm drunk again. This will be the one that I'm attempting to destroy at the Hard Rock Hell festival in December. I'll be the one doing my best 'Bonnie Tyler' impression if they roll this one out live. Watch out.

8. 'JULIET'
You can understand my nervousness about being alone in a room with Tony Kakko. After all 'The End Of The Chapter' and 'Don't Say A Word' are some of the most gory, misogynistic songs written this side of grindcore, but he assures me it's all just a character and in 'Juliet' the macabre tale of a stalker and his earring-less victim comes to a deathly close... or does it?

9. 'NO DREAM CAN HEAL A BROKEN HEART'
Nice 'Black Diamond'-eqsue keyboard intro there guys. You gotta love a bit of medieval bontempi. This is a slice of trademark Sonata and brings in the sultry female vocals of Johanna Kurkela
once again. If you loved 'Reckoning Nights' soaring epic 'White Pearl, Black Ocean' you'll dig this.

10. AS IF THE WORLD WASN'T ENDING
Ballad #3 and another good use of Elfman-style twinkle. This is exactly the type of song you'd expect to end finish an album. It's slow, doomy but with uplifting noodling from keyboardist Henkka.

11. 'THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE'
End now? No way. There's more and it's is a good'un. Harking back to Tony's former X-Files obsession is a track that feels like a continuation of the one before but instead of another ode to Agent Scully this is apparently about being hungover. Something I can relate to thanks to this listening session.

12. 'EVERYTHING FADES TO GRAY (FULL VERSION'
From the mirror reflection of the track that introduced this album comes a fully orchestrated motherfucker of a closer. Grandiose? Sonata? Always. And we wouldn't have it any other way.