Sonata Arctica

Sonata Arctica is a Finnish power metal band founded in 1996 in Kemi.

Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica performing live at the Galaxy Theater in Santa Ana, California 2007
Background information
Also known as	Tricky Beans, Tricky Means,
Origin	Kemi, Finland
Genres	Power metal, progressive metal
Years active	1996−present
Labels	Spinefarm, Nuclear Blast
Members	Tony Kakko Tommy Portimo Marko Paasikoski Henrik Klingenberg Elias Viljanen
Past member(s)	Jani Liimatainen Pentti Peura Janne Kivilahti Mikko Härkin
Website	www.sonataarctica.info

The band's original name was Tricky Beans. After releasing three demo recordings it was changed into Tricky Means. Afterwards the band adopted its current name.

Before they became as famous and popular as they are, they got attention from metal fans for touring and playing with the band Nightwish.

Sonata Arctica's first music album was Ecliptica. It was released on November 1999 in Finland and elsewhere in 2000. 30,000 copies were sold in Japan. The newest studio recording is Stone grow her name (2012).

Line-up

Original members

• Tony Kakko - vocals, keyboards
• Janne Kivilahti - bass
• Jani Liimatainen - guitar
• Tommy Portimo - percussion

Current members

• Tony Kakko - vocals
• Henrik Klingenberg - keyboards
• Jani Liimatainen - guitar
• Marko Paasikoski - bass
• Tommy Portimo - percussion

Discography

Studio albums

• Ecliptica (1999)
• Silence (2001)
• Winterheart's Guild (2003)
• Reckoning Night (2004)
• Unia (2007)
• The Days of Grays (2009)
• Stone grow her name (2012)
• Pariah's child (2014)
• The Ninth Hour (2016)
• Talviyö (2019)
• Acoustic Adventures – Volume 1 (2022)
• Acoustic Adventures - Volume 2 (2022)
• Clear Cold Beyond (2024)

Compilations

• The End of This Chapter (2005 in Japan, 2006 in Europe)
• The Collection (2006)

Live albums

• Songs of Silence - Live in Tokyo (2002)
• For the Sake of Revenge (2006)
• Live in Finland (2011)

Mini Albums

• Successor (2000)
• Orientation (2001)
• Takatalvi (2003)
• Don't Say a Word (2004)

Singles

• Unopened (1999)
• Wolf and Raven (2001)
• Last Drop Falls (2001)
• Victoria's Secret (2003)
• Broken (2003)
• Don't Say a Word (2004)
• Shamandalie (2004)
• Replica 2006 (2006)
• Paid in Full (2007)
• The Last Amazing Grays (2009)
• Flag in the Ground (2009, promo)
• I Have a Right (2012)
• Shitload of Money (2012)
• Alone in Heaven (2013)
• The Wolves Die Young (2014)
• Cloud Factory (2014)
• Love (2014)
• Kingdom for a Heart (2014)
• Christmas Spirit (2015)
• Closer to an Animal (2016)
• Life (2016)
• A Little Less Understanding (2019)
• Cold (2019)
• The Rest Of The Sun Belongs To Me (2021)

Demo recordings

• Agree Pamppers (1996)
• Friend till the End (1996)
• PeaceMaker (1997)
• Fullmoon (1999)

Other releases

• Wolf & Raven (Music Video, 2001)
• Broken Live (Music Video, 2003)
• Don't Say a Word (Music Video, 2004)
• For the Sake of Revenge (DVD, 2006)
• Paid in Full (Music Video, 2007)

Other websites

• The official Sonata Arctica page