The Days of Grays

Last updated
The Days of Grays
Sonata Arctica - The Days of Grays.jpg
Studio album by
Sonata Arctica
Released8 September 2009
Recorded2009 at Tico Tico Studio (drums and bass)
Fantom Studios and Magic-7 Studio (guitars)
Lanceland 2 and Kakkos-studio (keyboards)
Studio 57 (hammond organ)
Kakkos-studio (vocals)
Rock Valley-Studios (cello)
Great Sounds Studio (female vocals)
Genre Power metal, symphonic metal, progressive metal
Length59:20
Label Nuclear Blast
Producer Tony Kakko, Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica chronology
Unia
(2007)		The Days of Grays
(2009)		 Live in Finland
(2011)
Singles from The Days of Grays
  1. "The Last Amazing Grays"
    Released: 26 August 2009
  2. "Flag in the Ground"
    Released: September 2009
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Lords of Metal62/100 [2]
The Metal CircusStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Metal Storm Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Metal Symphony Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [5]

The Days of Grays is the sixth full-length studio album by Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica. The album was released in South America on 8 September 2009, on 16 September in Finland, 18 September in Europe and 22 September in North America through Nuclear Blast. [6] The special edition of the album includes the album along with an orchestral CD as a digipak. [7] [8]

Contents

It is the first album with guitarist Elias Viljanen and also the first since 1999's Ecliptica in which vocalist Tony Kakko also plays the keyboards.

History

Sonata Arctica keyboardist Henrik Klingenberg described the album as:

a bit darker and maybe not so complex as [2007's] "Unia". Nevertheless, it's definitely not a back-to-the-roots album with fast power metal. All the trademark SONATA stuff is on there, solos, lots of singing [and] some slower songs.

—  [6]

The first single from the album is "The Last Amazing Grays". It was released by Nuclear Blast Records only in Finland on 26 August. The band ran a fan art contest to choose the artwork for their second announced single, "Flag in the Ground" which the press release calls "an uplifting story about a young couple fighting their way to freedom and their own land in North America back in early 1800s." [9] The winner of the contest was Simo Heikkinen from Finland. [10] The name for The Days of Grays apparently took a very long time to come to as the band had a name for the record that was deemed more appropriate "for a death metal band or something" according to Henrik Klingenberg. In a French interview, Tony Kakko stated that the original name was Deathaura, the name of a song on the album. [11]

The track "Juliet" continues the so called Caleb saga, a series of songs that started on Silence 's "The End of This Chapter", was continued on Reckoning Night 's "Don't Say a Word", Unia 's "Caleb" and would be later continued on The Ninth Hour 's "Till Death's Done Us Apart" [12] and Talviyö 's "The Last of the Lambs". [13]

"Everything Fades to Gray" features the lyrics "It's not fair, it's not fair, there was a time now" relating to the Twilight Zone episode Time Enough at Last and "The Truth Is Out There" is about the popular TV series The X-Files.

Track listing

All music by Tony Kakko except "Nothing More" by Henrik Klingenberg, all lyrics by Tony Kakko, songs arranged by Sonata Arctica.

All tracks are written by Tony Kakko.

No.TitleLength
1."Everything Fades to Gray (Instrumental)"3:06
2."Deathaura"
  • "The Premonition" (1:32)
  • "The Witch-Hunt" (0:38)
  • "Exposing the Heathen" (0:38)
  • "Envy" (0:20)
  • "The Fear" (0:38)
  • "The Grudge" (0:32)
  • "The Curse" (0:26)
  • "The Flames" (0:20)
  • "Endless Inquisition" (Instrumental) (2:04)
  • "...Together, Today, for All Eternity" (0:50)"
7:58
3."The Last Amazing Grays"5:40
4."Flag in the Ground"4:08
5."Breathing"3:55
6."Zeroes"4:23
7."The Dead Skin"6:14
8."Juliet"5:59
9."No Dream Can Heal a Broken Heart"4:33
10."As If the World Wasn't Ending"3:49
11."The Truth Is Out There"5:03
12."Everything Fades to Gray (Full Version)"4:32
Total length:59:20
Limited Edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."In the Dark"5:21
Limited Edition "Orchestral Bonus CD" [7]
No.TitleLength
1."Deathaura"7:56
2."The Last Amazing Grays"5:10
3."Flag in the Ground"3:55
4."Juliet"6:02
5."As If the World Wasn't Ending"3:56
6."The Truth Is Out There"5:06
7."In the Dark"5:22
Total length:37:27
U.S. Edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."In My Eyes You're a Giant"4:42
Japanese Edition bonus tracks [14]
No.TitleLength
13."Nothing More"3:55
14."In My Eyes You're a Giant"4:42
Japanese Edition "Live Bonus CD" - Official bootleg live around Europe 2008 [14] [15]
No.TitleLength
1."Paid in Full (Live in France)"4:26
2."Black Sheep (Live in Italy)"5:56
3."Draw Me (Live in Switzerland)"4:06
4."It Won't Fade (Live in France)"6:22
5."Replica (Live in Switzerland)"4:38
6."Don't Say a Word (Live in Switzerland)"6:08
Total length:32:06

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2009)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [16] 52
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [17] 96
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [18] 50
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [19] 2
French Albums (SNEP) [20] 41
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [21] 24
Italian Albums (FIMI) [22] 56
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [23] 40
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [24] 31
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [25] 26

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [26] Gold17,807 [26]

Release history

RegionDate
South America8 September 2009
Finland16 September 2009
Japan16 September 2009
Rest of Europe18 September 2009
North America22 September 2009

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonata Arctica</span> Finnish power metal band

Sonata Arctica is a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, Finland. Created as a hard rock band named Tricky Beans, they later changed to Tricky Means and finally to Sonata Arctica, when they shifted to power metal. The current lineup consists of drummer Tommy Portimo, lead singer Tony Kakko, keyboardist Henrik Klingenberg, guitarist Elias Viljanen and bassist Pasi Kauppinen. All the musicians of the band's history except Portimo also acted as backing vocalists.

<i>Ecliptica</i> 1999 studio album by Sonata Arctica

Ecliptica is the first full-length album by the power metal band Sonata Arctica. It was released in 1999 through Spinefarm Records in Europe and through Century Media in the United States. It is the band's only album featuring bassist Janne Kivilahti. In 2016, vocalist, keyboardist and songwriter Tony Kakko described the album as "like the extension of our demo, we didn't know what we were doing so that reflects on the album and makes kind of cute if you will."

<i>Silence</i> (Sonata Arctica album) 2001 studio album by Sonata Arctica

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<i>Winterhearts Guild</i> 2003 studio album by Sonata Arctica

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Kakko</span> Musical artist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jani Liimatainen</span> Finnish musician

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henrik Klingenberg</span> Musical artist

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<i>Unia</i> 2007 studio album by Sonata Arctica

Unia, released on 25 May 2007, is the fifth full-length studio album by the power metal band Sonata Arctica, following the album Reckoning Night. The first single from the album was "Paid in Full", released on 27 April 2007. This is also the last album that features Jani Liimatainen, who was later replaced by Elias Viljanen after the album was released.

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For the Sake of Revenge is a live album and DVD recorded by the Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica. It was recorded at Shibuya AX, Tokyo, Japan on 5 February 2005. Along with the CD there is a DVD in stereo and Surround 5.1 sound, which also includes Finnish commentary track by the band, Misplaced Cameras On Tour, a biography, discography and some photos.

Fire-Hearted is the third studio album by metal musician Elias Viljanen as solo artist. The album features Marko Hietala and Tony Kakko on vocals. Also contributing is Jari Kainulainen on bass, Henrik Klingenberg on keyboards and Mikko Sirén (Apocalyptica) on drums. The album was out in June 2009. The song "Last Breath of Love" with Marko on vocals can be heard on Elias' Myspace together with the title-track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Last Amazing Grays</span> 2009 single by Sonata Arctica

"The Last Amazing Grays" is the first single from Sonata Arctica's album The Days of Grays, released in Finland exclusively on August 26, 2009 via Nuclear Blast Records. It features the video edit of the song "Flag in the Ground" which is the first video from the album. The song was ranked third on the Finnish record chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag in the Ground</span> 2009 single by Sonata Arctica

"Flag in the Ground" is the second single from Sonata Arctica's album The Days of Grays. The single was only given out to the winner of the Flag in the Ground Fan Art Contest which had prizes of several merchandise of the band for first place and runners-up, second and third. The song reached number 3 on the Finnish record chart. The melody in this song is sampled from "BlackOut", a song in the Friend 'till the End demo from the band's early years as Tricky Beans.

<i>Reckoning Night</i> 2004 studio album by Sonata Arctica

Reckoning Night is the fourth full-length studio album by the Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica, as well as the first to feature keyboardist Henrik Klingenberg. The track "Don't Say a Word" continues the so called Caleb saga, a series of songs that started on Silence's "The End of This Chapter" and is continued on Unia's "Caleb", The Days of Grays's "Juliet", The Ninth Hour's "Till Death's Done Us Apart" and Talviyö's "The Last of the Lambs".

<i>Stones Grow Her Name</i> 2012 studio album by Sonata Arctica

Stones Grow Her Name is the 7th full-length studio album by Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica. It was released in Finland on May 16, 2012, in Europe on May 18, 2012, in North America on May 22, 2012 and in Japan on May 23, 2012. It was the last album to feature longtime bassist Marko Paasikoski.

<i>Live in Finland</i> 2011 live album by Sonata Arctica

Live in Finland is a live album and DVD recorded by the Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica. Live in Finland was recorded at Club Teatria in Oulu, Finland on 15 April 2011 during "The Days Of Grays" World Tour, and was released on 11 November 2011. Along with the CD, there is a DVD in stereo and Surround 5.1 sound, which also includes Finnish commentary track by the band, making-of videos, two documentaries, photos, and music videos. The DVD's cover was created by Xabier Loebl.

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<i>Dont Say a Word</i> (EP) 2004 EP by Sonata Arctica

Don't Say a Word is Sonata Arctica's fourth EP released on 30 August 2004 through the label Nuclear Blast.

<i>The Ninth Hour</i> (album) 2016 studio album by Sonata Arctica

The Ninth Hour is the ninth studio album by Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica. It was released on 7 October 2016 by Nuclear Blast.

<i>Talviyö</i> 2019 studio album by Sonata Arctica

Talviyö is the tenth studio album by Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica. It was released on 6 September 2019 by Nuclear Blast.

References

  1. ↑ "The Days of Grays - Sonata Arctica | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Sonata Arctica - The Days Of Grays | Review | Lords Of Metal metal E-zine - issue 95". Lordsofmetal.nl. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  3. ↑ themetalcircus.com. "SONATA ARCTICA - The Days of Grays". The Metal Circus. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  4. ↑ "Sonata Arctica - The Days Of Grays - Metal Storm". Metalstorm.ee. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  5. ↑ Metal Symphony. "Sonata Arctica: The Days of Grays // Nuclear Blast ( PIAS Music )". Metal Symphony. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  6. 1 2 "Sonata Arctica: New Album Details Revealed". blabbermouth.net. July 9, 2009. Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
  7. 1 2 "SONATA ARCTICA | The days of grays - Nuclear Blast". Nuclearblast.de. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  8. ↑ "Sonata Arctica | Official website". Sonataarctica.info. 2009-09-18. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  9. ↑ "Sonata Artica Lets Fans Design Cover Artwork". blabbermouth.net. July 22, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  10. ↑ "Winner of Artwork Contest". SonataArctica.info. August 18, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  11. ↑ "INTERVIEW Tony Kakko, chanteur de Sonata Arctica". La Grosse Radio. August 15, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  12. ↑ "Sonata Arctica reveals details about Finnish Tour 2018". Sonata Arctica's official Facebook page. Facebook. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  13. ↑ Giffin, Brian (3 September 2019). "SONATA ARCTICA // A Little Understanding". Hysteria Magazine. Hysteria Media PTY LTD. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  14. 1 2 "The Days Of Grays Sonata Arctica [CD]". Cdjapan.co.jp. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  15. ↑ "The Days Of Grays Japan Limited Edition van Tony Kakko Fan Page JPN op Myspace". Blogs.myspace.com. 2009-08-23. Archived from the original on 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  16. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Sonata Arctica – The Days of Grays" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  17. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Sonata Arctica – The Days of Grays" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  18. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sonata Arctica – The Days of Grays" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  19. ↑ "Sonata Arctica: The Days of Grays" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  20. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Sonata Arctica – The Days of Grays". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  21. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sonata Arctica – The Days of Grays" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  22. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Sonata Arctica – The Days of Grays". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  23. ↑ "ザ・デイズ・オヴ・グレイズ". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  24. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Sonata Arctica – The Days of Grays". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  25. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Sonata Arctica – The Days of Grays". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  26. 1 2 "Sonata Arctica" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
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