Only Heavy Metal

2015-12-01 - Finnish melodic metal heroes SONATA ARCTICA are set to release a very special Christmas gift for their fan base: A new single called »Christmas Spirits«.

This year the handing out of presents will happen six days early as the single will be released on December 18th via Nuclear Blast. It will be released via digital download and as a limited edition EP, only available at the Nuclear Blast Online Shop.

The band commented on it:
"Hello everyone out there!
Christmas is just around the corner so we decided to cheer you all up with a nice Christmas story. "Decided" might be a bit strong in this context since the 'Christmas Spirits' song has been around for about ten years now, we just never had the time to record it. Finally during the »Pariah's Child« sessions we managed to do the basic tracks and this autumn we finished the song. I guess the main reason for the delay was getting the lyrics done, it’s nearly impossible to get into the Christmas mood unless it’s actually… you guessed it, Christmas. Hats off to Tony since he did it anyway, this autumn, and without any snow, we might add. Be that as it may, here’s our latest piece of art: 'Christmas Spirits'!
Merry Christmas to everyone & cheers,
SONATA ARCTICA"

Sonata Arctica announce European Tour 2016 with Twilight Force!

Finnish melodic metal quintet SONATA ARCTICA has started to work on the follow-up album to the successful »Pariah's Child« record. Beyond that, the band is happy to announce the first leg of their European tour.

SONATA ARCTICA is currently taking a break from the recording for their 9th studio album and about to head out with Nightwish for a couple of weeks in North-America from February 19th on.

Directly alongside the release of the new album, SONATA ARCTICA will hit the road again, supported by their Swedish fellows TWILIGHT FORCE.
"We're all really looking forward to finishing our new studio album and taking the songs on the road. This time we'll start in Europe before heading on to the rest of the world. As always, you can expect a energetic show with new stuff as well as some old favourites", states the band.

And here are the dates:

SONATA ARCTICA - European Tour 2016
Special Guest: TWILIGHT FORCE
presented by: Metal Hammer, Musix, Blast, RockIT + Powermetal.de & Dragon Productions

07.10.16 NOR - Trondheim, Trondheim Metal Fest
08.10.16 SE - Borlänge, Liljan
09.10.16 SE - Huskvarna, Folkets Park
11.10.16 DK - Copenhagen, Pumpehuset
12.10.16 DE - Hamburg, Markthalle
13.10.16 NL - Haarlem, Patronaat
14.10.16 NL - Tilburg, 013
15.10.16 UK - London, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
16.10.16 FR - Paris , La Machine du Moulin Rouge
18.10.16 FR - Strasbourg, La Laiterie
19.10.16 CH - Pratteln, Konzertfabrik Z7
20.10.16 IT - Milan, Alcatraz
21.10.16 DE - Mannheim, Alte Seilerei
22.10.16 DE - Bochum, Zeche

016-02-12 - Finnish melodic metal quintet SONATA ARCTICA has started to work on the follow-up album to the successful »Pariah's Child« record. Beyond that, the band are also happy to announce the first part of their European Tour for 2016.

"At the moment we're taking a break from the recording of our 9th studio album and heading out with NIGHTWISH for a couple of months in North-America. When we get back we're more or less going straight into the studio to continue working on the album", comments keyboard player Henrik „Henkka“ Klingenberg. The US tour will kick off on February 19th in Sayreville, New Jersey - ending up in New York City on April 3rd.

As with »Pariah's Child«, the as yet untitled upcoming ninth studio album will be recorded at "Studio 57". "As far as the musical direction of the album, it's really too early to say how it will turn out. Having said that, I expect the usual SONATA ARCTICA trademarks to be found on it. We will however get this album done in time for a fall release and we'll tell you all more as things progress..."

Directly alongside the release of the new album, SONATA ARCTICA will hit the road again, supported by their Swedish fellows TWILIGHT FORCE. "We're all really looking forward to finishing our new studio album and taking the songs on the road. This time we'll start in Europe before heading on to the rest of the world. As always, you can expect a energetic show with new stuff as well as some old favourites", states the band.

2016-07-21 - Only two years after the release of »Pariah's Child« and a massive world tour, the Finnish Melodic Metal quintet SONATA ARCTICA are already back for more – their ninth masterpiece entitled »The Ninth Hour« will see the light of day on October 7th.

Once again, the album was produced by SONATA ARCTICA themselves and mixed by Pasi Kauppinen, to create a typical yet refreshing sound that defines the spirit of the band in the year 2016.

“The studio work for the new record started seriously in mid-April 2016 in several home studios around Finland," singer Tony Kakko explains. “But the main recording and mixing took place at the Studio57 in Alaveteli, Finland. It functions as a kind of centre point and all work finally ends up there. We aimed to create another melodic, beautiful, surprising SONATA ARCTICA album… Did it turn out that way? I surely think so. But maybe I should leave that for you to decide!”...

2016-08-12 - After announcing the new album »The Ninth Hour«, due on October 7th, the Finnish melodic metal quintet SONATA ARCTICA now presents its first single and lyric video 'Closer To An Animal'.

"'Closer to an animal' was a song that our vocalist Tony sent to the studio somewhere around the middle of the sessions with the words: 'This will be the album opener'," keyboarder Henkka Klingenberg remembers. "After checking out the demo, we all just had to agree. I would say that musically this is a 'metal meets 80's' type of song. We wanted this as the first single, since it gives quite a clear picture of what you can expect on the upcoming album, or at least some of it. I'm really looking forward to opening the shows on the next World Tour with this track!"...