Suffice it to say with the sheer amount of albums Sonata Arctica has released, they have had their fair share of albums with fair to middling production qualities, as well as the music, just there, lacking the power of their earlier releases.  But when I popped in this promo, I was thoroughly impressed and this has 10 songs in 51 minutes and the physical edition contains 12 songs in an hour.

“First in Line” starts with some breathtaking atmosphere and drums before blasting along with their fast power metal equipped with multi-layered keyboards of Tony Kakko, their original vocalist is nailing all the different tones and he has well…a power metal voice, reminding me of early Scanner, out of Germany.  The chorus is exceptionally crafted and catchy and at this point, I am a fan.  Power Metal always gets me in a happy and excited mood and I am a fan of fast-moving power metal, not the slower kinds of bands.  So when I compare this album opener with past Sonata Arctica songs this definitely harkens back to their earlier releases and the guitar soloing going on is great and the varying keyboards are prominent and are all over the place.  Talk about a bombastic album opener.  So much fun.

“California” is up next and you cannot catch your breath and maybe many of you longtime fans were expecting the band to slide into a slower song, but the band said hell no and this is another fast song with the dizzying keyboards, almost played as a guitar and the guitar riffing is most excellent and catchy.  This song moves pretty fast and I can imagine circle pits all damn day.  The guitar soloing going on at the 2.10 mark is killer with the keyboards piped higher alongside those solos – pretty wild.  Again, the band seems intent on erasing or rather I should say, intent on showing their fanbase they are back to reclaim their true power metal glory.  “Shah Mat” is up next and again is a fast galloping number, a tad slower than the previous two songs, but still a fast song with a great galloping type of old-school speed.  Bombastic atmosphere and effect at the 2.10 mark with soaring aria vocals as well, so it almost sounds like this could be in a Disney movie..  The song slows down and then picks up the gallop once again.

“Cure for Everything” has varying tempo shifts, speedy, slower, and killer guitar solos and keys as the song picks up the pace alongside those excellent vocals.   The rest of the album does contain some of those progressive and slower elements, which have been more prominent on many of their prior albums, however lucky for us those moments take a back seat on this album.  Rather than closing out with a bang, like how the album opener came out the gates and did not let up, the title track ends the albums, slower, with acoustic elements and it’s a good ending overall, but ends with a more melancholic approach.

Clear Cold Beyond has a great album cover painting with the band’s epic band logo and the colors and new age type of cover with the snow-drenched mountains and frozen waterfall is quite a nice painting to look at.  Without having any prior experience with past Sonata Arctica albums, except for going back after listening to this, and checking those releases out, it’s clear as day Clear Cold Beyond captures the band’s former glory of their earlier years with really pressing on that gas pedal and creating many fast and quick paced power metal anthems without forgoing any quality, because this band has quite a lot of talent.  The production qualities are also terrific.  This is a rockin’ power metal album that will certainly please many of their older fans and maybe bring those fans back into the fold if they had given up on the band..

Of course, there are still elements of Sonata Arctica’s past, the occasional lightning riff or gang vocals, but this album is slower, more melodic and darker than what fans may expect of the band. The first thing I notice about Unia is that the guitar sound on this record seems to be a little more biting and dynamic. That’s a good thing. The second thing I noticed is that the keyboard is much more pervasive. That’s generally a bad thing. It works on songs like “Caleb,” which opens with a nice little piano intro and then uses the keys for a symphonic effect, but there are several times on the record when it’s way too much.

Sonata Arctica’s results from the new approach are mixed. Generally, when they throw some of their old power metal influence in, as on “It Won’t Fade,” one of the better tunes here, they fare better. Another really good moment is the opening of “Fly With the Black Swan,” which juxtaposes a bouncing metal riff with a bluesy slide guitar underneath. It’s an interesting choice, but a definitely cool sound. Sometimes the slower songs, such as “For the Sake of Revenge,” that go for the brooding effect, just end up boring.

I keep getting a really heavy early Queen vibe off of this record, maybe Queen II, which certainly could be considered a forerunner of power metal. After listening to “The Vice,” hands down the best song on the record, my mind keeps drifting toward “March of the Black Queen.” It’s got that same cool, operatic and medieval feel to it. I’d love to see them do more stuff like this. The Queen influence is all over the record in both melodic choices the band makes and the vocal inflections of Tony Kakko.

For hardcore fans of Sonata Arctica, this could well be a disappointing record. It’s very different from anything the band has done before. To me, though, it’s one of the more interesting records of their career. Sure there are some moments that fall flat, but there’s also a great deal of creativity and experimentation – things that I believe are way too scarce in power metal these days.