SONATA ARCTICA: First Two Albums Reissued Next Month

SONATA ARCTICA, the melodic hard rockers from the Northern Finnish town of Kemi, have confirmed the October 6th reissue of their first two studio albums via Spinefarm Records UK.

Titled Ecliptica and Silence and originally issued in 1999 and 2001 respectively, these were the titles that first defined the distinctive Sonata style, bringing the group (formed in 1996 by driving force and songwriter, vocalist Tony Kakko) out-of-the-box success both at home and abroad.

As with most outfits, it was demo recordings that first piqued the interest of fans and industry folk alike, but it wasn’t until the release of Ecliptica that the Sonata story truly began to unfold; quality musicianship, boundless energy and beautiful, highly emotive melodies, all of these factors were right there in the grooves, and it wasn’t long before the guys were out on an eight-week, 10-country tour of Europe, special guesting with STRATOVARIUS.

In truth, Ecliptica was a tough act to follow, being well received by the critics and selling around 30,000 copies in the Far East alone, but when it came to delivering a second killer set of songs, Tony Kakko was not to be found wanting; ‘Wolf & Raven’ (the first single from Silence),‘Last Drop Falls’,‘Black Sheep’,‘Tallulah’, numbers such as these continue to hold sway with SA aficionados the world over, and it’s easy to see why.

There could be no turnin’ back now...

These Collector’s reissues of Ecliptica and Silence come with bonus material, expanded artwork, background essays, plus sleeve notes from Tony Kakko himself.