Album Retrospective: Ecliptica

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Imagine, if you will, that it's 1999. Cable internet is just starting to catch on; the Macarena already has. The populace is overcome by the impending terror of Y2K. Boy bands dominate the music scene. Grunge has all but disappeared, and metal may as well be a whisper. Then, from the wilds of Kemi-Tornio, Finland, bursts forth the most pure form of power metal heard since Stratovarius. Ripping guitar, pounding double bass, and soaring vocals come together in a trifecta of bombastic sound to take Nick Carter and Joey Fatone and Taylor Hanson by their heads and throw them from a twelfth-story window.

Did you get chills?

This is what Sonata Arctica's debut album, Ecliptica, did to the world. No it isn't; that's a lie. It's what I wish it would have done. But some of the things in that story are true! This is, in fact, a blast of pure power metal for your ears. Ecliptica comes from before Sonata had truly defined their sound, which is both good and bad. But let's start with the good.

With the exception of a few tracks that never quite made it, this album may as well be hit after hit after hit. "Blank File", "My Land", "8th Commandment", "Replica", "Kingdom for a Heart", "Fullmoon", and "Letter to Dana" have all seen regular rotation at live shows and in my CD player. For those counting, that's the first seven of the ten songs on the album. Ranging from love song to wolf song, from paranoid to overjoyed, from national anthem to video game anthem, these seven songs could easily make the album. (I can't tell you how many people only know "Kingdom" from searching "Kingdom Hearts" on YouTube.) The first wolf song, "Fullmoon", has become the band's flagship song; not counting Ari Koivunen's cover from Finnish idol, I have eleven separate versions of the track. It's been performed at every concert I've seen and I would wager every concert Sonata has ever performed. Powered by crowd callback sections and a dueling guitar/keyboard solo originally between guitarist Jani Liimatainen and multi-instrumentalist Tony Kakko, it's easy to see why this song has become so popular. "My Land" details the beauty of the Finnish countryside, and having been there, I can vouch for the description. "Letter to Dana" is possibly my second-favorite ballad, featuring guest instrumentation from flautist Raisa Aine. And "Replica" was one of the first songs I ever heard by the band; its guitar-heavy nature mixed with a short bass solo and powerful re-entry after the bridge made it an early favorite.

But what of the other three songs? "UnOpened" takes the time to showcase the instrumental chops that would become trademark. "Picturing the Past" is, admittedly, nothing special, but I'll get to that later. And finally, there is "Destruction Preventer", a seven-minute song about environmentalism interspersed with a fantastic backing band. However, most of note is the incredibly high note Kakko hits near the end -- while I'm not sure of the octave, I want to say it's a G5. At any rate, it should be largely impossible for someone with his range to hit, and yet he belts it out like it's nothing.

All right, I've covered the good; now let's get to the bad. Since this album is raw power metal, critics have compared it to Stratovarius unfavorably. Rather than finding their own sound, Sonata has been criticized for sounding too similar to their influences and not bringing anything particular new to the table. While I would disagree in certain places, on the whole, this is an accurate assessment. Those who aren't fans would call several of the songs downright interchangeable. I still believe this album was a very strong debut, especially given the scenario I opened this review with, but if Sonata had kept this same sound throughout their entire career, I doubt I would be as much of a fan as I am now. Fortunately, Sonata never stopped evolving, and they've already far eclipsed Ecliptica. A-