His ambitiousness is obviously paying off. The chorus of 'Don't Say a Word', for example, goes like this: 'Mother always said 'My son, do the noble thing'/You have to finish what you started, no matter what/Now sit, watch and learn/'It's not how long you live, but what your morals say'/Cannot keep your part of the deal/So don't say a word, don't say a word.' It's worth keeping Kakko's lyrics nearby for reference when listening to Sonata Arctica, as his verbosity is matched only by the catchiness of his tunes.

'Still, I also have weird skeletons in the closet, like Crash Test Dummies and Enya! I enjoy Enya's vocal parts.' 'For me, Queen has always been great,' Kakko explains. The high-pitched, ultramelodic Kakko creates all the vocal arrangements, and while the 30-year-old cites fellow Finnish metal acts like Stratovarius and Nightwish as major influences, there's no denying the royal inspiration behind his multilayered harmonies. This tale of an obsessed stalker features overdriven guitar riffs from Jani Liimatainen, massive synthesizer washes from Henrik Klingenberg, and monster bottom end from four-stringer Marko Paasikoski and drummer Tommy Portimo. The cover of Reckoning Night, the band's fourth studio album, depicts a pirate ship on stormy seas, and Kakko says the keyboard-drenched 'White Pearl, Black Oceans.', which runs almost nine minutes, is partly based on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.Ī characteristic Sonata song on this new album is 'Don't Say a Word,' a sequel to 'The End of This Chapter' on 2001's Silence. Sonata Arctica's high-tempo, intricately orchestrated music reflects both the grandeur of the Nordic landscape and a desire for escapism. That gives me the creative power I need.'

'If I walk half a mile, I'm in the heart of a big forest, away from everything. 'It's really cool to have a quiet, natural setting,' says singer-songwriter Tony Kakko, reached backstage at a Montreal rock club. The town's main claim to fame is building the world's largest snow castle each year. The Finnish power-metal quintet was founded 10 years ago in Kemi, a place just south of the Arctic Circle with a population of 23,000. Hard-rock bands often originate in major urban centres like Los Angeles or Birmingham, England, but Sonata Arctica is a small-town success story.

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