Winterheart's Guild | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 21 February 2003 | |||
Recorded | September – November 2002 | |||
Studio | Tico Tico Studio | |||
Genre | Power metal, symphonic metal | |||
Length | 54:57 | |||
Label | Spinefarm | |||
Producer | Sonata Arctica | |||
Sonata Arctica chronology | ||||
|
Winterheart's Guild is the third studio album by the power metal band Sonata Arctica. It was released in 2003 through Spinefarm Records. In a 2014 interview, vocalist, keyboardist and songwriter Tony Kakko said inspiration for writing "The Ruins of My Life" came from the film Braveheart . [1] In 2019, he would refer to the album's recording process as a "nightmare" because he only had "two or three" songs ready when the band went in the studio. [2]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Lords of Metal | 90/100 [4] |
Sea of Tranquility | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Sputnikmusic | 4/5 [6] |
Loudwire named the album at eleventh in their list "Top 25 Power Metal Albums of All Time." [7] Metal Hammer also included it in their 2016 list of 10 essential power metal albums. [8]
All songs written by Tony Kakko
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Abandoned, Pleased, Brainwashed, Exploited" | 5:36 |
2. | "Gravenimage" | 7:00 |
3. | "The Cage" | 4:36 |
4. | "Silver Tongue" | 3:58 |
5. | "The Misery" | 5:08 |
6. | "Victoria's Secret" | 4:43 |
7. | "Champagne Bath" | 3:57 |
8. | "Broken" | 5:18 |
9. | "The Rest of the Sun Belongs to Me" (Japanese edition bonus track) | 4:22 |
10. | "The Ruins of My Life" | 5:14 |
11. | "Draw Me" (In the Japanese edition, the silence after 5:05 between studio outtakes are removed.) | 9:27 |
Total length: | 54:57 |
Technical personnel
Chart (2003) | Peak position |
---|---|
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [9] | 3 |
French Albums (SNEP) [10] | 63 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [11] | 88 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [12] | 18 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [13] | Gold | 24,986 [13] |