''Silence'' is the second full-length album by

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

band

Sonata Arctica 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 ...

, released in 2001 through

Spinefarm Records Spinefarm Records is a Finnish independent record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. It is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. History Spinefarm Records was originally founded in 1990 by Riku Pääkkönen as a mail-order distrib ...

. It is the only studio album to feature keyboardist

Mikko Härkin Mikko Härkin (born 25 May 1979 in Kuopio, Finland) is a Finnish power metal keyboardist, who has performed with Sonata Arctica and Kenziner. History Härkin begun to study piano at the age of 5. He joined ''Kenziner'' in 1998 and with them rec ...

, and the first album with original member Marko Paasikoski, who returned to the band the previous year.

Stratovarius Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band that formed in 1985. Since their formation, they have released sixteen studio albums, five DVDs and six live albums. In its history, the band has gone through many chaotic lineup changes, and after fo ...

lead singer

Timo Kotipelto Timo Antero Kotipelto (born 15 March 1969) is a Finnish musician best known as the lead singer of the power metal band Stratovarius, whom he joined in 1994, as well as fronting his own band Kotipelto. Biography He studied vocals at the pop/ja ...

sang guest vocals on the album.

Concept and themes

The cover art, featuring a landscape divided into night, summer and winter, was meant to depict nature. However, Tony explained that the cover was not supposed to feature too much symbolism, except for the footprints leading away from the campfire. He explained: The title of the album was at first supposed to be longer, but Kakko's then-girlfriend suggested "silence" and he reflected on how important silence was for him: The second track "Weballergy" is considered by Kakko to be a sequel to ''

Ecliptica ''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 ...

'''s "Blank File", as both of them cover the theme of

Internet privacy Internet privacy involves the right or mandate of personal privacy concerning the storing, re-purposing, provision to third parties, and displaying of information pertaining to oneself via Internet. Internet privacy is a subset of data privacy. Pr ...

. "The End of This Chapter" starts the so-called Caleb saga, a series of songs that is continued in ''

Reckoning Night ''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 o ...

'''s "

Don't Say a Word ''Don't Say a Word'' is a 2001 American psychological thriller film starring Michael Douglas, Brittany Murphy and Sean Bean based on the novel ''Don't Say a Word'' by Andrew Klavan. It was directed by Gary Fleder and written by Anthony Peckh ...

", ''

Unia ''Unia'' ( en, 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 ...

'''s "Caleb", ''

The Days of Grays ''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 Am ...

'''s "Juliet", '' The Ninth Hour'''s "Till Death's Done Us Apart", and ''

Talviyö ''Talviyö'' (Finnish for "winter night") is the tenth studio album by Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica. It was released on 6 September 2019 by Nuclear Blast. Background and recording The album was produced by the band and Mikko Tegelman ...

'''s "The Last of the Lambs". "The Power of One" is the longest Sonata Arctica song to date, at a length of 10:43, not including an extra minute of silence followed by an outtake from the narrator.

Track listing

Personnel

;Sonata Arctica *

Tony Kakko Toni Kristian "Tony" Kakko (born 16 May 1975) 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. Biography Kakko was born in Kemi, Finland and ...

– vocals, additional keyboards *

Jani Liimatainen Jani Allan Kristian Liimatainen (born 9 September 1980) is a Finnish musician, songwriter and backing vocalist, currently a member of melodic death metal band Insomnium. He is the former guitarist and one of the founding members of the power m ...

– guitars *

– keyboards *

Marko Paasikoski 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 ...

– bass *

Tommy Portimo 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 ...

– drums ;Guest vocalists *

– backing vocals and last line (on track 3) *Nik Van-Eckmann – male voices (on tracks: 1, 4, 7 and 13) *Renay Gonzalez – female voice (on track 4) ;Technical staff *Produced by Ahti Kortelainen at Tico Tico Studios *Mixed by Mikko Karmila at Finnvox Studios in April 2001 *Mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios *Cover art and logo by Eric Philipp *Inlay drawings by Tero Junkkila *Original logo concept by Janne "ToxicAngel" Pitkänen *Art Direction and background photos by T. Kakko *Band photo by Toni Härkönen

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

Album info

Lyrics
{{Authority control Sonata Arctica albums 2001 albums Spinefarm Records albums