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SONATA ARCTICA
Stones Grow Her Name

Nuclear Blast (2012)
Rating: 9/10

Longtime fans of Finnish hard music veterans Sonata Arctica will be well pleased with Stones Grow Her Name. While the band started out with a bang, their forays into more and more progressive styles of hard music have made them increasingly inaccessible to broader audiences over the years. Rather than declare themselves “in it to please only themselves”, the band recognised the connection to the fans they were losing (and perhaps to themselves?) and rerouted themselves with Stones Grow Her Name, an album chock full of mainstream ready tunes that prove the band has a lot left in them.

While the progressive elements are not gone, the album is tremendously focused and a lot of… well… fun! There are basically two sides to this album. A very focused, but still progressive side and a big anthem rocker side that reminds me more than a little of an edgier Bon Jovi or the Scorpions (and, yes, that’s a compliment!).

On the progressive side you have songs like ‘Losing My Insanity’, which kicks off with a beautiful piano intro before kicking in to a driving rock-riddled song featuring scaled solos and the vocal twists and turns the genre loves so much, and ‘Cinderblox’ which squeals and pumps, demanding your attention with its wild soloing, commanding vocals and banjos. Yes, banjos! ‘Wildfire II’ and ‘Wildfire III’ round out this side of the album with a rock opera sort of presentation that certainly highlights what the band has done with their last couple of albums.

The big anthem rocker side is what I prefer here as this is a fairly new aspect of the band to come to light and they are pretty damn good at it. ‘Alone In Heaven’ is big and bombastic mid-tempo giant that you can’t help but compare to late 80s / early 90s Scorpions albums. ‘Shitload Of Money’ is a fun tune that reminds me a lot of when music was played in massive arenas and guitar sounds would ring for literally miles while the rhythm section made your chest pound. ‘Don’t Be Mean’ is a quieter, more introspective tune that really draws you in with its simplicity. While it may not be the most clever song, lyrically or musically, it’s powerfully honest and surprisingly emotional.

‘I Have A Right’ is the album’s highlight and balances both sides of Sonata Arctica quite well. It has the “big cheese” arena rock sound, but it’s got a fairly progressive aspect as well if you really pay attention to the rhythm section and keyboards. The song exhibits a longing for the world to allow each person to be an individual, declaring that we all have the right to simply “be”. A fitting anthem for this decade to be sure.

Overall, this is one of my favourite albums of 2012 so far. It’s got some warts, but for the most part it really just makes you feel good and the band plays so well but also drops hints throughout that they don’t take themselves as seriously as some may think.

Mark Fisher