Unia

Last updated
Unia
UNIA.JPG
Studio album by
Sonata Arctica
Released25 May 2007
RecordedDecember 2006 – January 2007 at Tico Tico Studio
Sonic Pump Studio (guitars, acoustic guitars)
Studio 57 (string, hammond organ)
2ndrate Soundcave (vocals, backing vocals, keyboards)
Jani's Lair (guitarsolos)
The Lanceland Room (keyboards, keyboard solos)
Genre Power metal, symphonic metal, progressive metal
Length58:35
Label Nuclear Blast
Producer Tony Kakko, Sonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica chronology
Reckoning Night
(2004)		Unia
(2007)		 The Days of Grays
(2009)
Singles from Unia
  1. "Paid in Full"
    Released: 27 April 2007
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Lords of Metal(9.7/10) [2]
Sea of Tranquility Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]

Unia (English: Dreams), 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 guitarist Jani Liimatainen, who was later replaced by Elias Viljanen after the album was released.

Contents

The album was mixed at Finnvox Studios, and mastered at Cutting Room Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. The album was also released as a limited edition noble book in 7" size (1000 copies), exclusively available via mailorder from Nuclear Blast records. The limited edition came with a differing track listing and bonus tracks "To Create a Warlike Feel" and "Out in the Fields".

Sound and themes

Unia is darker and more aggressive than Sonata Arctica's earlier work, with mid-tempo songs, more inclusion of 7 string guitars and a minimal amount of solos. It has been described as a significant "turning point".

Vocalist Tony Kakko has once admitted that Unia being released just after Reckoning Night "was probably a shock to many people". [4] He also described it as "a liberating experience. From there we took slowly some other direction". [4] Commenting further on the album, he also stated: [4]

Back then our band thought we are in some kind of pit and that we needed to do something different. To be honest, in that time it would have been better to do a solo album, but there was no time nor possibility for it. Unia is one of the closest albums to me personally.

Drummer and founding member Tommy Portimo said that Unia "brought many good things. I think our band needed that little shaking. [...] That album felt very natural. Although we realized it was very far from what we were before. But it was just a natural shaking." [4] Guitarist Jani Liimatainen considers it his least favorite album among the ones he recorded with the band, calling it "too experimental for my taste". [5]

The track "Caleb" continues what the band refers to as "the so-called Caleb saga", a series of songs that started on Silence 's "The End of This Chapter" and is continued on Reckoning Night 's "Don't Say a Word", The Days of Grays 's "Juliet"; The Ninth Hour 's "Till Death's Done Us Apart" [6] and Talviyö 's "The Last of the Lambs". [7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tony Kakko, songs arranged by Sonata Arctica

No.TitleLength
1."In Black and White"5:03
2."Paid in Full"4:24
3."For the Sake of Revenge"3:23
4."It Won't Fade"5:58
5."Under Your Tree"5:14
6."Caleb"6:16
7."The Vice"4:08
8."My Dream's But a Drop of Fuel for a Nightmare"6:13
9."The Harvest"4:21
10."The Worlds Forgotten, the Words Forbidden"2:57
11."Fly With the Black Swan"5:08
12."Good Enough Is Good Enough"5:30
Total length:58:35
European Edition
No.TitleLength
10."To Create a Warlike Feel"5:03
11."The Worlds Forgotten, the Words Forbidden"2:57
12."Fly with the Black Swan"5:08
13."Good Enough Is Good Enough"5:30
Total length:63:38
Japanese bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."They Follow"4:50
14."Out in the Fields" (Gary Moore cover)4:06
15."My Dream's But a Drop of Fuel for a Nightmare (Instrumental)"6:13
Total length:73:44

Personnel

Sonata Arctica
Additional personnel
String orchestra on "Good Enough Is Good Enough"

Charts

Chart (2007)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [8] 62
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [9] 1
French Albums (SNEP) [10] 101
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [11] 35
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [12] 23
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [13] 27
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [14] 40

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [15] Gold24,604 [15]

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.

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<i>Songs of Silence</i> 2002 live 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

Toni Kristian "Tony" Kakko is a Finnish musician, composer and vocalist. He is known as the vocalist, primary songwriter, and creative lead of the band Sonata Arctica since 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jani Liimatainen</span> Finnish musician (born 1980)

Jani Allan Kristian Liimatainen is a Finnish guitarist. He came to prominence as the guitarist for the power metal band Sonata Arctica between 1996 and 2007, and has since played in and founded bands such as Cain's Offering and The Dark Element. Liimatainen's playing style is well known for his meticulous and fast soloing and riffs.

<i>Orientation</i> (EP) 2001 EP by Sonata Arctica

Orientation is Sonata Arctica's second EP, released on 22 August 2001 through the label Spinefarm Records.

<i>Successor</i> (EP) 2000 EP by Sonata Arctica

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<i>For the Sake of Revenge</i> 2006 live album by Sonata Arctica

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paid in Full (Sonata Arctica song)</span> 2007 single by Sonata Arctica

"Paid in Full" is a single by the Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica. It was released on 27 April 2007. The single is from the album Unia and features a cover of Gary Moore's "Out in the Fields". The album art also includes Sonata Arctica's new logo design.

<i>The Days of Grays</i> 2009 studio album by Sonata Arctica

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<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".

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

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

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

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References

  1. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo. Unia at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Fons. "Review Sonata Arctica - Unia".
  3. ↑ Greg Stewart. "Review: "Sonata Arctica: Unia" - Sea of Tranquility - The Web Destination for Progressive Music!". seaoftranquility.org.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Exclusive: Sonata Arctica Interview About "Pariah's Child" 2014 (SUBTITLED)". KaaosTv (in Finnish). Helsinki: YouTube. 7 February 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  5. ↑ Begai, Carl (15 October 2009). "CAIN'S OFFERING Guitarist Jani Liimatainen On Leaving SONATA ARCTICA - "There Was Not Nearly As Much Drama As Everyone Would Like To Think"". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles . Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  6. ↑ "Sonata Arctica reveals details about Finnish Tour 2018". Sonata Arctica's official Facebook page. Facebook. 11 December 2017. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  7. ↑ Giffin, Brian (3 September 2019). "SONATA ARCTICA // A Little Understanding". Hysteria Magazine. Hysteria Media PTY LTD. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  8. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Sonata Arctica – Unia" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  9. ↑ "Sonata Arctica: Unia" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  10. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Sonata Arctica – Unia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  11. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sonata Arctica – Unia" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  12. ↑ "ウニア～夢記". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  13. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Sonata Arctica – Unia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  14. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Sonata Arctica – Unia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  15. 1 2 "Sonata Arctica" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
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