After releasing two acoustic albums, Finnish metallers SONATA ARCTICA have been secretly working on a new full-length. Fans can expect a return to their golden power metal roots on the group's forthcoming opus. Slated for release in the spring of 2024 via Atomic Fire, the band has unveiled a first taste of what's to come with a new single, "First In Line". Listen to it here.
SONATA ARCTICA frontman Tony Kakko states: "This is the first power metal song I wrote for the forthcoming album which is laden with them. Its demo title was 'First In Line' and I managed to stick with it. The song handles the worry about raising a new generation of people with or rather letting an electronic screen — namely TV, pad, or some such — do a big part of raising this generation of human beings. We think that we buy ourselves time with these gadgets, but are these devices the right 'nanny' for our kids or should we maybe slow down a bit, read books, teach that happiness can be and often is something we reach by stopping and letting go of constant stimulation of all our audiovisual senses? In ways, we are flying blindly with these things. Things are advancing too fast in many ways..."
More details on SONATA ARCTICA's upcoming LP will be announced in the months to come.
In related news, the "Nordic Power Metal Titans 2023" European tour, featuring SONATA ARCTICA alongside Finnish countrymen STRATOVARIUS and rising international power metallers and labelmates INDUCTION, will commence this weekend. The 24-date trek stands among the most anticipated tours of the year.
Born in 1996 at the edge of the world in the northern Finnish town of Kemi, these humble music makers of melodic metal never tire of the sweet taste of victory. Achieving gold status in their native Finland and securing their ninth career gold record with 2012's "Stones Grow Her Name" just seven days after release, SONATA ARCTICA also have a long-established history of global chart domination and sold-out shows around the world.
(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)