Written: 2nd March 2024
Having released their debut album, Ecliptica, twenty-five years ago, Sonata Arctica are now veterans of the metal scene with Clear Cold Beyond being their eleventh album. Many fans of the band split their history in two sections: the albums they consider to be true power metal and those on which the band embraced more progressive leanings. At Hotel Hobbies, progressive is not a dirty word and much of the material released from Unia onwards has been excellent. However, much as we loved The Days of Grays and the majority of The Ninth Hour and Pariah’s Child (the terrible X Marks The Spot aside), the confused Stones Grow Her Name and dreadfully lacklustre Talviyö failed to excite.
Clear Cold Beyond is the band’s first album of new material for almost five years, following the two volumes of the well conceived and executed Acoustic Adventures. Tony Kakko describes them: “It was a chance to slow down, reflect on what we’ve done in the past and also fulfil our long-held dream of doing an acoustic album and tour.” However, as successful as the acoustic albums proved, it also provided a spark for the band to think about getting back to metal. “We’ve felt for a while now that we needed to get heavier after a couple of unintentionally softer albums,” says Tony. “We still love those albums, but in terms of finding cornerstone songs for a feel-good melodic metal show, the previous album didn’t have much to offer. That’s one thing we wanted to change: More speed and songs that people can and want to sing along to.”
From the outset, Clear Cold Beyond is certainly a lot livelier that its dreary predecessor. The first three tracks - First In Line, California and Shah Mat (from the Arabic words for checkmate) - all rattle along at high-speed for most of their running time, with double-kick drums and sparkling interplay between keyboards and guitars. Lyrically, First In Line advocates a careful balance between protecting the joy and innocence of youth, while also preparing children for the future through education and honest guidance. It is also a call to be mindful stewards of the world, ensuring that the legacy left behind is one of hope rather than destruction. Every generation's every book / Every page is getting drawn on, burned / But we can save this world if we move a tad slower / Every open window, we are handing to a child / Is how we buy ourselves out of time / We learn or the world keeps burning. There is an undoubted energy across the opening trio of tracks, which in some ways gives many fans what they have wanted for some time. However, there is also some over similarity between some of the structures and riffs. Tony Kakko can write this sort of song in his sleep and while there is nothing fundamentally wrong with them, some sections could be lifted and placed in another track without a hugely noticeable difference. There is speed and power but how individually exciting these tracks remain after twenty or thirty listens will be down to the individual listener.
Dark Empath (the latest song in the Caleb saga and a direct sequel to Don’t Say A Word) allows Kakko to stretch his storytelling muscles once again and adds much needed variety to the first half of the album. “This saga started with our second album Silence in 2001 and I’ve actually lost track of how many sequels and prequels there have been,” grins Tony. “It’s a stalker theme that provides a framework for writing songs in a certain style that I really like. Fortunately, people seem not to mind.” The longest song on Clear Cold Beyond, Dark Empath hints at musical motifs, lyrics, vocal delivery and tones associated with other tracks that form part of the saga. Although it may not have the instant frenetic appeal of First In Line for example, those who have enjoyed following the story will not be disappointed as the progressive, symphonic and adventurous Dark Empath needles its way into your consciousness. Slotting into the centre of the saga, it delves further into the tale of someone who presents themselves as a perfect, empathetic partner, but is actually a manipulator exploiting another’s emotions and vulnerabilities. I'm a riddle, I'm a mourning dove / Turning brittle, you shall become / What I need you to feed me, love / Intimidated, weep / Love me, feed me pain so deep / While I still need to hear you call me your love.
Cure For Everything starts like a classic slow Sonata Arctica ballad but quickly begins to build up the pace - Elias Viljanen’s central spirited guitar solo one of the best on the album - full of acrobatic glissando and dexterity. A Monster Only You Can’t See (one of the singles released ahead of the album) sits somewhere in the middle of the tempos the band explore on Clear Cold Beyond. Although musically it somewhat meanders without ever fully deciding where it wants to head, lyrically it is one of the most interesting songs that the band have produced. It is an examination of how friends can be an essential support network that provide emotional sustenance, practical assistance and a sense of community. Sure, your mind weighs like a boulder / There's a monster on your shoulder / Words and phrases, meanings, faces / Virtues, vices, your luck's based on balanced dices / We are you; you are us / Always you're one of us. With friends acting as mirrors reflecting back our positive characteristics even when we cannot them ourselves, we can build a foundation of optimism and strength. However, Kakko’s exclamations of asshole - used in jest towards those with which we are extremely comfortable - are misjudged, childish and unnecessary.
Teardrops and Angel Defiled both make use of harpsicord style keyboards with Teardrops belying its relatively short running time with the feeling of something more epic, complete with a range of excellent keyboard work (including a sophisticated solo) from Henrik Klingenberg. There are one or two times on the album when Kakko’s vocals would benefit from being a little higher in the mix - Angel Defiled is one of them; nevertheless, it would also appear that Sonata Arctica are enjoying themselves again, something that was seriously lacking on Talviyö. “It’s... rejuvenating in a way,” says Tony. “The songs have been so much fun to write and record. We can’t wait to hit the road with this album and see how the crowds react to us being back at it.”
Penultimate track The Best Things is the nearest thing to an out-and-out ballad on the album. Opening with delicate piano, it is a celebration of everything that is good in life including those closest to us. Slow but deliberate and uplifting, it is followed by the title track, Clear Cold Beyond. Ending the album with the two slowest tracks is an interesting decision and while there something of the epic closer to the final track - Sonata Arctica ramping up the drama and pathos as much as possible – the song, which occasionally feels a little bogged down, would have benefited from the injection of a little more pace.
Clear Cold Beyond is a huge step up from the previous album but it is not as consistently rewarding as an album such as The Days of Grays and fans clamouring for purely faster material will be only somewhat satisfied. However, bands should not write albums based on the demands of any part of their fanbase and Sonata Arctica achieve a good balance between the power metal of their early albums and the more progressive influences of more recent years. The first half of the album is stronger overall, with Dark Empath being the best thing here. Clear Cold Beyond definitely features some feel good singalong songs the band were aiming to create but suffers from misjudgements in the order of the track listing. If The Best Things were to replace one of the opening trio of songs as the third song on the album, this would add further variety to the first few tracks. Clear Cold Beyond may not sit comfortably alongside the band’s very best material; however, it does show that they can still cast a little Finnish magic over us all.
Clear Cold Beyond is released on 8th March 2024 on Atomic Fire Records