• • • Years active 1995−present Labels, Associated acts,,,,, Website Members Past members Pentti Peura Janne Kivilahti Sonata Arctica is a Finnish band from the town of, 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 line-up consists of singer, keyboardist and songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist Pasi Kauppinen, keyboardist and keytarist, and drummer Tommy Portimo. All the musicians of the band's history except Portimo also acted as backing vocalists.

View Full Version: Discografia Sonata Arctica •[Sonata Arctica. 2002 - Songs of Silence (Live in Tokyo): user posted.

As of 2016, the band has released nine full-length albums (three via and six via ), their most recent being on October 7, 2016. Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Biography [ ] Formation and early years (1996–1999) [ ] The band was founded by Marko Paasikoski (guitar), (guitar) and Tommy Portimo (drums) in Kemi at the end of 1995 ( (vocals) and Pentti Peura (bass) joined in early 1996).

Originally named Tricky Beans, they played rather than the power metal with which they grew to fame. Kakko explained that when he was invited to join the band, Paasikoski said the band was going to play 'a mixture of and '. During their early career, they recorded three which were never sent to a recording label — Friend 'til the End, Agre Pamppers and PeaceMaker. According to Kakko, the band's first name was based on one of their early songs, which was 'about a lady who was tricky and I didn't really know what I was talking about (laughs)'. Their first show was about to take place but they were still unnamed, so they had to come up with something. In 1997 the band changed their name to Tricky Means, and from that point until 1999 their style was thoroughly worked upon and ultimately was drastically changed, acquiring a strong emphasis on the keyboard melodies and relying on an easily distinguishable rhythm line maintained both by the bass and the guitar. Vocalist Tony Kakko developed a clean singing style which relies both on and voices.

Kakko has stated that the change of sound was influenced by fellow Finnish power metal band. At that time, Pentti Peura was fired and Marko Paasikoski left due to a lack of gigging.

Two months later the band got signed to a three-album deal with, which left Marko displeased. The band finally changed their name to Sonata Arctica, because they thought they wouldn't be able to sell metal albums with the previous name and also because Spinefarm asked them to do so. 'Sonata Arctica' was suggested by a friend of the band: 'sonata' for the music and 'arctica' for their home (Kemi, in Northern Finland). In 1997, they recorded a demo entitled FullMoon in Kemi's Tico Tico Studios, which was their first real metal recording. The line-up consisted of and Tony Kakko, Jani Liimatainen, new Janne Kivilahti (who started first as second guitarist ) and Tommy Portimo. The demo was sent to by a friend of the band and a recording deal soon followed.