Stratovarius Community

In fact in one interview the guy asked Tony ''What do you think about The Days of Grays?''

Well..Tony simply answered with one sentance ''Worse than Unia.''

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Kosmo wrote:Not to start an argument, i'm just interested..Is it just that they're not speedy like the earlier albums or is it something else?

That is pretty much it. I never really liked Sonata to begin with (mainly due to Tony Kakko. Someone please explain to me what is supposed to be so awesome about him?), but the first 3 or 4 albums were goof, fun, Strato-like Power Metal. Unia and TdoG, especially TdoG, just strike me as really, really boring.

Kecos wrote:

HinatAArcticA wrote:

Balu wrote:While Unia was new, interesting and very good (3rd best SA), TDoG was just... Uninspired and boring.

I'd like to know how is Deathaura uninspired and boring.

I'd like to know how The Last Amazing Grays is uninspired and boring.

It is a 3/5. If someone says Flag in the Ground too, then all at least half-decent songs are listed. Together the album is around the 10th best release of that year.

finding something boring says more about the person than the music.

I just think that you guys can't say it's boring just because it's not 170bpm and without very fast solos.

The harmony and rythm parts in Deathaura, along with the way Tony mixes the melody is just genious, and if you sit and listen to it with care, you will find many interesting beautifull sounds behind what might seems a simmple "uninspired" pseudo-symphonic song song, and that's how it works in most of the album. In "Everything Fades to Gray", the disonance between the voice and the piano actually creates a harmony that is somehow bittersweet and yet very deep. I think music and understantign it is a very complex thing, and I can't force anybody to like The Days of Grays, but I just want you to give it a chance as what it is. It is no a straight power metal album. It's not a symphonic metal album like Epica. It stands on its own, and I do think is just an amazing piece of work.

P.S. About Tony, and without thinking about his music skills (which btw make me think of him as just an amazing composer) he is a poet. His lyrics are just too well put together. They are no lyrics you can understand just by reading them, and I find so much beauty on the words, that's another reason why I love Sonata so much.

Let me post some lyrics from The Days of Grays:

From Everything Fades to Gray
"Can't walk away. Nothing to say. No need to feel so afraid, colors last a lifetime and fade to gray"

From Deathaura
"I remember how you told me,
Your kin's different, on that sunny day?"
"You made me smile,
'cause I was just about to say the same thing..."
So deeply entwined, love of a lifetime...

But they paid someone to say their torment has a name
And after all these years we get to be together for all eternity...

And if you guys/girls happen to be in love with a boy/girl:

From In the Dark
Be my lifeline for this lifetime, suffer in pleasure forever and ever
I'd like to see how the walls around your heart will fall apart..
Stop resisting, let the light in, suffer in pleasure forever and ever... for this one lifetime
Be my lifeline for this lifetime, suffer in pleasure forever and ever
Stop resisting let the light in... oh, oh... for this one lifetime

I am feeling your face in the dark
I'm hearing you breathe in the dark
I am tasting your lips in the dark
I'm holding you close in the dark

I mean... these lyrics are so... amazing, really.
The words just mix together with the music and the way they are put together...
The atmosphere that it creates and everything in between.

I just can't understand how can this be unispired and boring.

That's all for now

Well, I know I can say that. Maybe they're masterpieces to you, but to me they're just another bunch of boring songs. I tried to give TdoG a chance, but the album just bored me to tears apart from "Flag In The Ground".

And when I mentioned Tony I think I should've made myself sound clearer. I was talking about his voice. I never understond why some people think he is the best singer ever. To me his voice just sounds powerless and thin.

Ragehead91 wrote:To me his voice just sounds powerless and thin.

Well that's a matter of taste and it's very valid.

What I think is that his voice is part of the Sonata sound. You just couldn't have a Sonata song (Being FullMoon or Juliet) without his voice. Would be like trying to replace TK in strato. It's just the Strato sound.

Also, to Ragehead91. Did you listen to "No More"? I posted it in page 4 of this topic. It's more old school power metal and features Elias playing a really good solo and a twin solo with the keys and the guitar.

Yes, I did. And it actually is pretty awesome. Why is a kick-ass song like this a bonus track?

Ragehead91 wrote:Yes, I did. And it actually is pretty awesome. Why is a kick-ass song like this a bonus track?

Because they have to do that, so the japanese people will buy that version. You see, european releases cost less money, and if bands don't put some bonus song or material on the album, people in japan would just order an european album for a lower price, but if they add tha extra song, then they will buy the japanese version.

Or that's what I read somewhere

I know that. Than give the japs one of those slow-paced borefests instead of this.

Ragehead91 wrote:And when I mentioned Tony I think I should've made myself sound clearer. I was talking about his voice. I never understond why some people think he is the best singer ever. To me his voice just sounds powerless and thin.

IMO Tony is kond of an average singer, not even close to Strato's Timo or BG's Hansi, but there are lots of worse singers in other power metal bands.

I think it's Tony's tone that people (like me) enjoy..

And i'm glad he doesn't try to sing high pitched anymore, his voice is better nowdays IMO.

Kecos wrote:

HinatAArcticA wrote:

Balu wrote:While Unia was new, interesting and very good (3rd best SA), TDoG was just... Uninspired and boring.

I'd like to know how is Deathaura uninspired and boring.

I'd like to know how The Last Amazing Grays is uninspired and boring.

Deathaura and The Last Amazing Grays are great songs, but the rest of The Days of Grays is pretty boring. After 4 or 5 times of listenings I still don't remember most of it's songs. Maybe my opinion will change after more listenings, but I doubt it. I like some other progressive Power Metal albums, like Elements Pt.1 or Age of Aquarius (well it's not Power Metal, but anyway...), but I don't like most of Sonata's progressive songs. They are boring imo.

Babylonian wrote:

Kecos wrote:

HinatAArcticA wrote:

Balu wrote:While Unia was new, interesting and very good (3rd best SA), TDoG was just... Uninspired and boring.

I'd like to know how is Deathaura uninspired and boring.

I'd like to know how The Last Amazing Grays is uninspired and boring.

Deathaura and The Last Amazing Grays are great songs, but the rest of The Days of Grays is pretty boring. After 4 or 5 times of listenings I still don't remember most of it's songs. Maybe my opinion will change after more listenings, but I doubt it. I like some other progressive Power Metal albums, like Elements Pt.1 or Age of Aquarius (well it's not Power Metal, but anyway...), but I don't like most of Sonata's progressive songs. They are boring imo.

Like I've stated somewhere else, Sonata trying to be a more progressive band is like Dream Theater trying to be a more power metal band: It just don't make sense! SA should stick to do power metal songs, just the way they used to be. I'm not saying TDOG is an horrible album, but after Unia and the change of directions they tried to make it doens't seem to be SA anymore. The only song I can stand from they last record is, like many of you, Deathura

ggonza43 wrote:

Babylonian wrote:

Kecos wrote:

HinatAArcticA wrote:

Balu wrote:While Unia was new, interesting and very good (3rd best SA), TDoG was just... Uninspired and boring.

I'd like to know how is Deathaura uninspired and boring.

I'd like to know how The Last Amazing Grays is uninspired and boring.

Deathaura and The Last Amazing Grays are great songs, but the rest of The Days of Grays is pretty boring. After 4 or 5 times of listenings I still don't remember most of it's songs. Maybe my opinion will change after more listenings, but I doubt it. I like some other progressive Power Metal albums, like Elements Pt.1 or Age of Aquarius (well it's not Power Metal, but anyway...), but I don't like most of Sonata's progressive songs. They are boring imo.

Like I've stated somewhere else, Sonata trying to be a more progressive band is like Dream Theater trying to be a more power metal band: It just don't make sense! SA should stick to do power metal songs, just the way they used to be. I'm not saying TDOG is an horrible album, but after Unia and the change of directions they tried to make it doens't seem to be SA anymore. The only song I can stand from they last record is, like many of you, Deathura

Imo some Power Metal bands, who have turned their direction into more progressive style has been succeeded, like Strato with Elements, but imo Sonata hasn't been succeeded.

they sold more albums than ever if that is not succeeding.

icecab21 wrote:they sold more albums than ever if that is not succeeding.

Who cares about how many sales they've made?! That happened to Tobias Sammet: He didn't care about his most loyal fans, he just wanted to sell more and more, even if that involved losing their followers. If SA does the same, I would be very dissapointed

they sold more with making more creative music. this music is a lot less conventional than past cds. for me every song is filled with beutiful melodies and lyrics. there are many comments from fans who the album reached. most of the comments from people that the album did not reach did not really care about the band anyway. almost noone that has been negative about them even brings up their lyrics or the subject matter that the band sings about as if lyrics are not even a important part of music to them. we have people like ragehead that call the old music fun when there is nothing lyrically or musically fun about their old albums. sonata arctica has a fanbase for their lyrics that i have not seen them lose. i would say this last album had the biggest emotional range the band has done so far and juliet is certainly the most emotional vocal performance i have seen from tony in concert.

I wasn't talking about his lyrics. Yes, he is a good lyricist, but for me the lyrics aren't that important. As long as I like the song I'm very forgiving when it comes to lyrics. Hell, I even tend to be a fan of silly, over-the-top and cheesy stuff. The only lyrics I dislike are preachy religious ones. Anyway, I was mostly reffering to the music. And that was most of the time, at least to me, light-hearted and fun. And I was reffering to his voice which I never really liked.

All too often, "Loyal" fans really don't care about the band. They don't want the band to grow or develop. I have no problem with Sonata Arctica exploring new styles, the problem is, their latest album just sucked.

ggonza43 wrote: Like I've stated somewhere else, Sonata trying to be a more progressive band is like Dream Theater trying to be a more power metal band: It just don't make sense!

Tony said it once in an iterview. "We can't play like Dream Teater"
So I don't think they are trying to be a more prog band. I think is very simmple, they are just making new and more interesting things that just a usual power metal album.
Thats what makes me love Sonata, like Avantasia and Edguy, and hate DragonForce (to mention some)

4 Albums, and DragonForce still sound the same, and do I expect a change for the fifth? Nope. Even with the departure of ZP (who I think sucks...) I know that their next album is going to be the exact same thing all over again, and I don't know you, but I just would get bored of the same after 6 albums. Tobi and Tony have allways stated that they will make the music as they feel it inside, and I think that's what music is about. Expressing what you feel inside on a way that words alone couldn't do. That's the amazing thing about music. You can have such different sounds in a single music genere, or albums that are somehow different, and I think that's good because it helps our music world to grow and not to stay in the same thing for 20 years. After all, that's how the classic or the romantic periods were born in classical music. Musicians got bored of doing the same thing again and again, and even when the barroque period had great composers and amazing works, many new things were written in the new periods which are totally different, yet so amazing and good, and also did this happen to blues evolving to rock and then to metal. Now metal is evolving, and I think that's just great, because a genere that doesn't evolve and grow, in time becomes obsolete and dies.

The other way around. I really like Dragonforce but I don't like the recent Edguy, Sonata Arctica and Avantasia stuff.

It's not that I'm against developement. But at the same time I don't mind if a band doesn't develope and just plays it safe, or in your words "repeat the same album over and over again". (Dragonforce, Motörhead, AC/DC and what not). In some cases I even wish that certain band would do that.

But I guess in the end it just is all about personal preference. I just don't like the direction those mentioned bands chose to follow. The whole "The double-bass will go out the window, and so much for solos; all guitars will be heavily downtuned and the bass guitar will suddenly become oppresive. Catchy choruses are for the simple minded, so none of those--in fact, nothing that's fun to sing along with at all. Add five key changes and cut the tempos in half. There will also be at least one bizarre psychadelic minimalist section per song" or Sammet's tries to be a Rock Star/Bon Jovi ist just not for me.

HinatAArcticA wrote: Tony said it once in an iterview. "We can't play like Dream Teater"
So I don't think they are trying to be a more prog band. I think is very simmple, they are just making new and more interesting things that just a usual power metal album.

Dream Theater is not prog.
DREAM.
THEATER.
IS.
NOT.
PROG.

a

Well I don't think "trying" is not a good wird since that is exactly what they stopped doing to their music. They stopped "trying to make PM" simple as that. Now they just make music.

Second of all Tony said in an interview that their music is going to take an easier and simplier direction since they are becoming older and he even said that they could not make an album like Ecliptca anymore.

Lots of weird stuff he said. I think they will turn a rock band then.

What I remember Tony saying, is that there was not going to be an Ecliptica too and that he wouldn't compose or put songs like that in an album.

Then came Flag in the Ground and Nothing More, really out of nowhere... and Deathaura also has some very straight parts so... I think it's really unpredictable what will happen next.

mayhem-for-all wrote:I think they will turn a rock band then.

robocop656 wrote:

mayhem-for-all wrote:I think they will turn a rock band then.

You have an amazing talent for posting random crap.

I really don't know that what kind of albums they're going to do in the future..Tony said that they were not a power metal band anymore so i guess your wishes of a speedy old-Sonata style album are pretty doomed..

But than again people change their minds.