Biography

Sonata Arctica was born in 1996 on the edge of the world, in northern Finish town of Kemi. The very first incarnation of the band was named Tricky Beans. After some personnel changes in 1997, the outfit changed their name to Tricky Means. Turning the page in 1999, Tricky Means recorded new demo "FullMoon" in Tico Tico Studios located in their hometown, Kemi. At the time of recording the line-up consisted of: Tony (vocals/keys), Jani (guitars), Tommy (drums), and Janne (bass). This new demo was the first exploration of the band in heavy metal waters. Band's trademark sound of fast, melodic and keyboard oriented heavy metal with clear and high vocals was born. As fate would have it and with help from Ahti Kortelainen of Tico-Tico Studio, the "FullMoon" demo found its way to the premier metal label of Finland, Spinefarm. At the same time Tricky Means became Sonata Arctica. Summer of 1999 brought us the first single from Sonata Arctica - UnOpened. The title song was simultaneously included in Metalliliitto 1999 compilation CD. Two furious tracks from the single, UnOpened and Mary-Lou marked the arrival of SA to power metal community. Autumn of 1999 marked the release of the very first full-length album, Ecliptica. Initially released in Finland, other countries quickly followed. Widely successful, Ecliptica opened doors for Sonata Arctica to participate in two tribute records. 'I Want Out' for Helloween tribute album "Keepers of Jericho" and 'Still Loving You' for Scorpions tribute, "A Tribute to the Scorpions" were both kick-ass versions of originals. Soon after the release of Ecliptica, band's mastermind Tony Kakko decided to concentrate more on singing, as opposed to trying to sing and play keyboards at the same time. Mikko Harkin (ex-Kenziner) joined the band to releif Tony from keys and to allow the front man to roam the stage. This change allowed for much more energetic live shows. It introduced a new capability for Sonata Arctica - to have two keyboard players simultaneously, adding a new cool twist to the live sound. Quick rise to fame continued through the end of 1999 and beginning of 2000. Soon after release of Ecliptica, Sonata Arctica was chosen as support band for Stratovarius European Tour, winning over 32 other bands from 15 different record companies. The tour started in April of 2000 with Strato and Rhapsody on the road. It lasted for two months, during which Sonata played over 30 gigs in 10 countries, traveling more then a thousand kilometers. Very successful tour was followed by the release of new mini-CD Successor. This new disk included two previously unreleased tracks, two cover tracks for upcoming tribute albums, some live tracks from Provinssi Rock and one edited track from Ecliptica. In a small line-up change, Janne Kivilahti made a decision to depart with the band due to personal reasons. Janne's last gig took place in Kemi on 30th June in the summer of 2000. Janne was replaced by Marko Paasikoski, who happened to be one of the founding members of Tricky Beans. Being a familiar face to the entire band, the transition was smooth and transparent. Year 2000 brought not only a big tour, new mini-CD, and a small line-up change, but also media recognition. Sonata Arctica was chosen as a candidate for "the best new-comer band" category by Emma in Finland. The new millennium is also treating the Sonata beans well. In the spring of 2001 Sonata Arctica opened two gigs for Alice Cooper, Dio and Ratt (in Oulu and Helsinki) in Monsters of the Millennium 2001 -tour. Striking metal while it is hot, the band worked on the second full-length offering from autumn of 2000 through the winter of 2001. All the songs have been composed again by the band's mastermind Tony Kakko. The single, "Wolf & Raven" from the second album, was released in May 01'. The album is scheduled for initial release in Japan, with other territories to follow shortly after. This recognition towards Japanese fans comes for a reason. The first album, Ecliptica, has sold more than 30000 copies in Japan. Band also plans to play its first four concerts in Japan in September of 2001. This year is shaping up to be very busy for the band. In July, a Finish tour kicks off, with separate gigs (including Wacken Open Air in Germany) in Europe. Than comes the visit to the Land of The Rising Sun. Than in September, a full blown European tour, as a support act for the monsters Gamma Ray. This trip will span 5 weeks, 12 countries and 28 shows. The traveling "vacation" will be finalized by the show in Helsinki, Finland to the delight of Finnish fans.

Members

Tony Kakko - vocals, keyboards

Mikko Harkin - keyboards

Jani Liimatainen - guitar

Marko Paasikoski - bass guitar

Tommy Portimo - drums

Discography

1999 - Unopened	01 - Unopened 02 - Mary Lou

1999 - Ecliptica	01 - Blank File 02 - My Land 03 - 8th Commandment 04 - Replica 05 - Kingdom For A Heart 06 - FullMoon 07 - Letter To Dana 08 - UnOpened 09 - Picturing The Past 10 - Destruction Preventer 11 - Mary-Lou

2000 - Successor	01 - FullMoon (edit) 02 - Still Loving You (Scorpions-cover) 03 - I Want Out (Helloween-cover) 04 - San Sebastian 05 - Shy 06 - Replica (live) 07 - My Land (live) 08 - UnOpened (live) 09 - FullMoon (live) 10 - 8th Commandment (live) 11 - Letter to Dana (live) 12 - Kingdom for a Heart (live)

2001 - Wolf & Raven	01 - Wolf & Raven 02 - Peacemaker

2001 - Silence	01 - ...of Silence 02 - Weballergy 03 - False News Travel Fast 04 - The End of This Chapter 05 - Black Sheep 06 - Land of the Free 07 - Last Drop Falls 08 - San Sebastian (revisited) 09 - Sing In Silence 10 - Revontulet (Instr.) 11 - Tallulah 12 - Wolf & Raven 13 - Respect the Wilderness 14 - The Power of One

2001 - Orientation	01 - Black Sheep 02 - Mary-Lou (acoustic version) 03 - The Wind Beneath My Wings 04 - Die With Your Boots On 05 - Wolf & Raven-Video 06 - Interview

2001 - Last Drop Falls	01 - Last Drop Falls 02 - Die With Your Boots On 03 - Mary-Lou (Acoustic V.)

2002 - Song Of Silence	01 - Intro 02 - Weballergy 03 - Kingdom For A Heart 04 - Sing In Silence 05 - False News Travel Fast 06 - Last Drop Falls 07 - Respect The Wilderness 08 - Fullmoon 09 - The End Of This Chapter 10 - Replica 11 - My Land 12 - Black Sheep 13 - Wolf & Raven

2003 - Victoria's Secret	01 - Victoria's Secret (Edit V.) 02 - Victoria's Secret (Album V.) 03 - Fade To Black

2003 - Winterheart´s Guild	01 - Abandonned Pleased Brainwashed Exploited 02 - Gravenimage 03 - The Cage 04 - Silver Tongue 05 - The Misery 06 - Victorias Secret 07 - Champagne Bath 08 - Broken 09 - The Ruins Of My Life 10 - Draw Me

2003 - Broken	01 - Broken (Edit V.) 02 - Broken (Album V.) 03 - Dream Thieves 04 - The Gun

2003 - Takatalvi	01 - San Sebastian 02 - The Gun 03 - Still Loving You 04 - Shy 05 - Dream Thieves 06 - I Want Out 07 - Fade To Black

2004 - Don't Say A Word	01 - Don't Say A Word 02 - Two Minds One Soul

2004 - Reckoning Night	01 - Misplaced 02 - Blinded No More 03 - Ain't Your Fairytale 04 - Reckoning Day, Reckoning Night 05 - Don't Say A Word 06 - The Boy Who Wanted To Be A Real Puppet 07 - My Selene 08 - Wildfire 09 - White Pearl, Black Oceans 10 - Shamandalie 11 - Wrecking the Sphere (J)

2005 - Shamandalie	01 - Shamandalie 02 - The Rest Of The Sun Belongs To Me

2006 - For The Sake Of Revenge	01 - Intro (Prelude For Reckoning) 02 - Misplaced 03 - Blinded No More 04 - FullMoon 05 - Victoria's Secret 06 - Broken 07 - 8th Commandment 08 - Shamandalie 09 - Kingdom For A Heart 10 - Replica 11 - My Land 12 - Black Sheep 13 - Gravenimage 14 - Don't Say A Word 15 - The Cage/Vodka/Hana Nagila

2007 - Unia	01 - In Black and White 02 - Paid in Full 03 - For The Sake Of Revenge 04 - It Won't Fade 05 - Under Your Tree 06 - Caleb 07 - The Vice 08 - My Dream's But A Drop Of Fuel For A Nightmare 09 - The Harvest 10 - To Create A Warlike Feel 11 - The Worlds Forgotten 12 - The Words Forbidden 13 - Fly With The Black Swan 14 - Good Enough Is Good Enough

2009 - The Days of Grays	01 - Everything Fades to Gray (instrumental) 02 - Deathaura 03 - The Last Amazing Grays 04 - Flag In The Ground 05 - Breathing 06 - Zeroes 07 - The Dead Skin 08 - Juliet 09 - No Dream Can Heal A Broken Heart 10 - As If The World Wasn't Ending 11 - The Truth Is Out There 12 - Everything Fades To Gray (full version)

Nahoru