''Ecliptica'' is the first full-length

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the

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 ...

. It was released in 1999 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 ...

in Europe and through

Century Media A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is the band's only album featuring bassist Janne Kivilahti. In 2016, vocalist, keyboardist and songwriter

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 ...

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." In 2017, ''

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive ...

'' ranked it as the 16th best power metal album of all time.

Songs and themes

Regarding the track "Blank File", which covers the topic of privacy on the Internet, vocalist Tony Kakko once stated: The theme would be again mentioned in the band's next album, ''

Silence Silence is the absence of ambient audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be extended to apply to the ce ...

'', on the track "Weballergy". In the song "Letter to Dana", the title character, Dana O'Hara, is named after ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

'''s

Dana Scully Dana Katherine Scully, MD, is a fictional character and one of the two Protagonist, protagonists in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox science-fiction, supernatural fiction, supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by Gillian Anders ...

15th anniversary re-recording

In 2014 Sonata Arctica announced through their Facebook page that they had re-recorded the entire album for its 15th anniversary. The new edition is titled ''Ecliptica - Revisited; 15th Anniversary Edition'' and was released on 24 October 2014, with the same track-listing as the original regular edition release plus one unreleased bonus track. Commenting on the album, keyboardist

Henrik Klingenberg Henrik "Henkka" Klingenberg (born 21 October 1978) is a Finnish keyboardist, keytarist and singer. He joined the Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica in late 2002 and currently resides in Kemi, Finland, when not on tour. Keyboardists he has ...

(who was not a member of the band at the time ''Ecliptica'' was released) said: The re-recording's first single was "Kingdom for a Heart", released digitally on 12 September 2014. According to Klingenberg, the song was chosen in order to "represent the overall sound of the album". On an interview held after the album release, Klingenberg said the only significant changes applied to the album were the lower keys and the rearranged solos, and that the band resisted the "temptation" to give the songs a "complete overhaul". He also said most of the album was recorded in the band members' own home studios, during breaks from their Pariah's Child World Tour. He also commented:

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals, 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 * Janne Kivilahti – 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 *Raisa Aine – flute on "Letter to Dana"

Technical staff

* Ahti Kortelainen - production at Tico Tico Studios * Mikko Karmila - mixing at

Finnvox Studios Finnvox Studios is a recording studio located in Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki, Finland. It was founded by Erkki Ertesuo, Kurt Juuranto and Lejos Inc. in 1965 and is the longest running studio recording facility in Finland. The original multi-track re ...

* Mika Jussila - mastering at Finnvox Studios

15th anniversary edition line-up

*Tony Kakko – vocals, keyboards *

Elias Viljanen Elias "E.Vil" Einari Johannes Viljanen (born 8 July 1975) is a Finnish musician from Tampere, Finland, known for being the guitarist for Sonata Arctica since 2007. Viljanen joined Sonata Arctica in spring 2007 in order to replace Jani Liimataine ...

– guitars *Pasi Kauppinen – bass *

- keyboards *Tommy Portimo – drums

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

Album info on the official Sonata Arctica website

Album lyrics on the official Sonata Arctica website
{{Authority control Sonata Arctica albums 1999 debut albums Spinefarm Records albums Nuclear Blast albums