To some, Sonata Arctica's Winterheart's Guild may be everything that's wrong with power metal.
A very large part of Sonata Arctica's music (to an extent where it's a fault, according to some), Tony maintains a constant presence in the music and never fails to impress. Kakko's playing is extremely memorable, and extremely consistent. Arguably the most impressive musician in the band, his keyboard solos are nothing short of amazing. And boy, Tony is quite the accomplished keyboardist. The other area where he shows considerable talent is on the keyboards. However, his accent is not quite as obvious as it was on older songs like 8th Commandment or Peacemaker. His singing also contains a thick accent which sounds pretty funny to be honest. Tony fails to disappoint throughout the entire run time. To-be listeners should also note his lower range, shout-like vocals in the likes of Champagne Bath. Kakko can hit the high notes extremely well, as he shows in the opening track, Abandoned, Pleased, Brainwashed, Exploited. His melodic vocal lines help set the tone and mood of the music, whether it be though a sullen mood, or a happier one. For one, Tony Kakko is quite the talented singer. Of the four members that made up Sonata Arctica at this point in time, one of them stands above the other three. Despite being almost nearly 100% cheese, I can still enjoy many of Tony's lyrics, as they are for the most part well written. Tony Kakko can portray a story exceedingly well and Victoria's Secret showcases this talent very well. Similarly too the music, it drips with emotion and is quite reflective of the band's attitude. Lyrically, my favourite song would be found in Victoria's Secret. But anyways, for what it is, it isn't too bad. Expecting Tony Kakko to write about anything different would be like expecting Slayer to write Christian metal. Yes, they're pretty cringe worthy, but it's Sonata Arctica. Instead, frontman Tony Kakko pens his lyrics with personal themes of love and life in mind. But despite the cover art which depicts a group of dwarves participating in their dwarfish activities with their dwarf brethren, Sonata Arctica's lyrics are not cheesy in the same way that DragonForce's or Hammerfall's are. But because of this, Sonata Arctica's style is likely among the most accessible styles in metal, and should garner the interest of those who count themselves as fans of metal and those who do not. The classy traditional metal sound is also not prominent. It doesn't have that mighty German power metal sound, nor does it employ the aggressive tactics of thrash. I myself like this formula, as it presents a different take on metal.
For those who can accept this, you should enjoy the album quite a bit. Rather, the heavy guitars aren't used to pound your ears into submission, but instead as an effect to enhance the music. No, distortion is still a very much utilized gift. Now this doesn't mean that the distortion levels are nil. Sonata Arctica's 2003 effort contains very little aggression. Like its predecessors before it, Winterheart's Guild helps dispel the myth that metal requires large amounts of aggression to be done well. Not to be caged into stagnation, Sonata Arctica also combines both of these elements into one, creating songs like Victoria Secret. There are fast, powerful songs such as Abandoned, Pleased, Brainwashed, Exploited, and The Cage slower, heartfelt ballads such as Gravenimage and Draw Me. Musically, many of the themes found on their previous albums are once again present here. Winterheart's Guild picks up where Silence left off. Though it was not regarded as highly as Silence, it remains an excellent release, worthy of the band's moniker. Released in 2003, it was titled Winterheart's Guild. After Songs of Silence, a live album, they entered the studio once again to record another album. The future was bright for these Finnish musicians. They followed up their successful debut with an even better received album, 2001's Silence. Partially influenced by the classical writings of years gone by and hailing from northern Finland, which happens to be located in the Arctic Circle, Sonata Arctica exploded onto the power metal scene with 1999's Ecliptica.
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