Sonata Arctica has what some would call a good problem: how to *continue* to be successful when the world, and their musical fellow travelers, have changed around them over a generation-spanning career. Their latest album strikes a tone I might call "responsibly concerned", starting with thr cover art depicting the precarious balance between nature and human society. A mixture of up- and down-tempo songs asks the listener to think carefully before adjusting the knob. Several tracks (including Japanese exclusive "The Elephant") feel very topical to the 2016 US election and the larger tide of hard-edged populism sweeping thr world. There is much hope in Tony Kakko's lyrics, but one might wish for a little more metaphor and fairytale as of old for SA, if only to preserve the space for the audience to imagine their own narratives into the music. Perhaps most pivotal is the revisitation of the "White Pearl, Black Oceans" story with a 10+ minute track that offers at least some hope that the singer, and by proxy the audience, can yet find redemption.Read full review
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