Sonata Arctica

Age: 19+

Tickets

Cost: $35.00
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SONATA ARCTICA: Sonata Arctica began in 1996 under the name Tricky Beans in Kemi, Finland. They would release three demos under that name - Friends Till the End, Agre Pamppers and PeaceMaker. In 1997 they renamed themselves Tricky Means, changing their rock ways into a more Power Metal feel and gaining influences from bands such as Stratovarius.
The first demo recorded by Tricky Means, FullMoon, at Tico Tico Studios in Kemi caught the eye of owner Ahti Kortelainen. The demo codified their trademark sound of fast, melodic metal with heavy keyboards and clean high vocals. Ahti Kortelainen was so impressed that he sent it over to the Finnish record label Spinefarm Records, closing their first album deal in 1999. It was then that they decided to choose a more appropriate name for their music - Sonata Arctica.
Sonata Arctica’s first single “UnOpened” was released in the summer of 1999. The single contained the title track and the song ‘Mary Lou’. Unfortunately the original pressing of the single had been accidentally slowed down - this mistake was discovered after the single had been shipped to record stores. The record label recalled the single and a new version was released. Their first album Ecliptica was released shortly after the single in Finland, and then with great success internationally. It led the way for the band to participate on cover albums for Metal luminaries such as the Scorpions and Helloween.
Singer Tony Kakko decided to concentrate more on singing live instead of doing keyboards and vocals at the same time. They hired keyboardist Mikko Härkin in 2000 to allow Tony to roam freely on stage. For a while it allowed both Tony and Mikko to play simultaneously on the same keyboard which added an interesting element to their live experience.
In 2000 Sonata Arctica was chosen out of 32 bands, from 15 different record companies, as a support band for Stratovarius’ European tour with Rhapsody. This tour would expose the band to new audiences and win over even more fans. After the tour they released a mini CD/EP called “Successor” featuring unreleased tracks, covers, and live tracks to whet the fans’ appetite for the new album.
In the summer of 2000 bassist Janne Kivilahti left the band due to personal reasons. Former band member, Marko Paasikoski, then rejoined the band as his replacement playing bass instead of guitar. The lineup at that point was Tony Kakko (vocals), Jani Liimatainen (guitars), Marko Paasikoski (bass), Mikko Härkin (keys) and Tommy Portimo (drums). Straight after the festival season and with the new bass player Pasi Kauppinen on board, the band started to work on their next studio album in September 2013. By Christmas most of the album was completed and after the mastering in the beginning of January (2014) Sonata Arctica started their 15th anniversary celebrations as a recording artist with a special 15th anniversary tour. The tour took place in Finland and Latin-America and lasted a total of 25 shows during which the band played a special set with songs from their entire career. The shows were also longer than normal with a running time of almost 2 hours. After the end of that tour their 8th studio album ”Pariah’s Child” was released worldwide and the band started the Pariah’s Child World Tour immediately. This year will see Sonata Arctica perform over 100 shows all over the world…
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LEAVE’S EYES:
For more than a decade now, LEAVES’ EYES have been setting world history to music and undeniably, by doing so, have raced to the top of the symphonic metal tree. With their new monumental epic “King Of Kings”, the band now further justifies their leading position as a compass in the genre and re-awakes the thousand-year legend of Norway’s first king, ‘Harald Fairhair’, in the process. Again this band prove their amazing talent of capturing sagas and legends of the past and truly making them come alive in the here and now. Welcome the Vikings!
LEAVES’ EYES has always been a band of superlatives: the international group has toured on five continents, playing concerts in more than 50 countries. Their live shows are spectacular events with breathtaking stage scenery, including a Viking ship or even the “Swords In Rock” monument from singer Liv Kristine’s home town. On their studio albums, the band has constantly followed the steps of classical composers from the past. Debut “Lovelorn” (2004) lead them first for subject matter, to Norway, home country of former vocalist Liv and full of myths and legends. The concept effort made the musicians’ wonderment at Scandinavia’s vast nature graspable and later this found its continuation with 2005’s “Vinland Saga”, whose story told of the Viking’s exploration of America and its result. The success was immediate, as the album (and its hit single “Elegy”) remained in the charts for four weeks. What’s more, from that point on all LEAVES’ EYES releases would follow that same tradition and achieve high chart positions, whether it was the orchestral metal opus “Njord” (2009), impressively remembering the Vikings’ exploration of all parts of the world, or the complex “Meredead” (2011), which delved into tales of Scandinavian legends, connected to life, death and the power of the ocean. LEAVES’ EYES effortlessly combine traditional folk, mystic sounds of the past and a symphonic orchestra with brutal, metal rawness, and this was no truer than when, for their 10th anniversary, the band released the highly-acclaimed “Symphonies of the Night”, an album which features all their traditional trademarks, turned into a sweeping metal opera.
Now LEAVES’ EYES lead us back in time to when Harald I was uniting Norway as one kingdom. With an almost cinematic intensity, the band has you see the battle of Hafrsfjord itself. “King of Kings” sounds as if film score composers Hans Zimmer and Richard Wagner themselves had collaborated on a soundtrack about the life of Norway’s first king with amazing results. The epic title track with its huge choirs (brought to you by the “London Voices” ensemble, who have famously worked on movie productions such as “Star Wars”, “Lord of the Rings” and “Harry Potter” amongst many) gives a perfect start to the saga. It’s a perfect match to the band’s ambitions and to the vision of producer Alexander Krull, who sonically lifts “King of Kings” to the level of these blockbuster productions. Whilst, under the guidance of ex – Rage guitarist Victor Smolski, the powerful White Russian Symphony Orchestra adds even more feel. Despite all this musical variety and epicness though, LEAVES’ EYES never lose their grasp for hits! Songs such as “The Waking Eye” and the massive “Halvdan the Black” (which is about Harald’s fateful father) will definitely become gothic/metal club hits…. And, the rousing hymn “Edge of Steel” sees two of the genre’s biggest stars join forces: Liv Kristine and guest singer Simone Simons (Epica) together leading us right onto the battlefields of Harald I himself……
“King of Kings” offers stylistic diversity everywhere you look; from folk rock and gentle tunes to symphonic, epic, heavy hymns; it’s an impressive display of the artists’ involved multifaceted qualities.
We could tell you more; a further highlight is the gigantic “Blazing Waters” (featuring Lindy- Fay Hella – Wardruna), which comes across as a musical vision of the decisive battle as real as anything you’ll hear on a record, whilst natural Celtic /ethnic elements and also percussion add an authentic feel to rockers such as “Vengeance Venom” and “Swords in Rock”, which will endear them equally to pagan and Viking metal fans alike.
“King of Kings” is without doubt truly music in wide-screen format, the band creating musical pictures which really make the whole era come alive.

OMNIUM GATHERUM :
Hailing from Finland, Omnium Gatherum is a band playing fierce death metal with breathtaking melodies and progressive originality for people in the metal field looking for something different that still is catchy. A band that truly walks it's own path proudly and shows some new exciting sides on identifiable character. A band of many directions and styles, some of them clearly visible while others were more unseen - namely working and keeping it all together under the moniker of melodic life-and-death metal and bastardizing it with various influences. Adult oriented death metal that it is! During anno 2010 OG signed to Lifeforce Records and started to record their new masterpiece with a fresh and refined sound. After dedicated and time consuming pre-production the "New World Shadows" album was an epic and massive attack of ever flowing stream of Finnish melodic death metal! The album was released in February 2011 and peaked on Finnish official album chart on position 5. and reached the position 1.(!) on Finnish Rumba indie shop chart. "New World Shadows" were again recorded by Teemu Aalto & mixed by Dan Swanö, who also provided some amazing clean vocals for the album. Band did two European tours after the release during 2011, first with Rotting Christ and second with Dark Tranquillity, Eluveitie, Mercenary etc. and two extended Finnish tour and big amount of festivals.
The "NWS" album is pure northern death metal without limitations - really melodic and intelligent but still aggressive and heavy as a really heavy thing, aside quoting feels from prog rock to even AOR - this is adult oriented death metal in it's most epic & purest form!
The next step of OG's saga is coming out early in 2013, so the story continues soooon!

VIP package available includes early entry for meet and greet with the band and signed poster.
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