''Unia'' ( en, Dreams), released on 25 May 2007, is the fifth full-length
studio album 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 c ...
, following the album ''Reckoning Night''. The first single from the album was "Paid in Full (Sonata Arctica song), Paid in Full", released on 27 April 2007. This is also the last album that features Jani Liimatainen, who was later replaced by Elias Viljanen after the album was released.
The album was mixed at Finnvox Studios, and mastered at Cutting Room Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. The album was also released as a limited edition noble book in 7" size (1000 copies), exclusively available via mailorder from Nuclear Blast records. The limited edition came with a differing track listing and bonus tracks "To Create a Warlike Feel" and "Out in the Fields".
Sound and themes
Unia is darker and more aggressive than
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 c ...
's earlier work, with mid-tempo songs, more inclusion of 7 string guitars and a minimal amount of solos. It has been described as a significant "turning point".
Vocalist Tony Kakko has once admitted that ''Unia'' being released just after ''Reckoning Night'' "was probably a shock to many people".
He also described it as "a liberating experience. From there we took slowly some other direction".
[ Commenting further on the album, he also stated:][
Drummer and founding member Tommy Portimo said that Unia "brought many good things. I think our band needed that little shaking. [...] That album felt very natural. Although we realized it was very far from what we were before. But it was just a natural shaking."][
The track "Caleb" continues what the band refers to as "the so-called Caleb saga", a series of songs that started on ''Silence (Sonata Arctica album), Silence'''s "The End of This Chapter" and is continued on ''Reckoning Night'''s "Don't Say a Word (EP), Don't Say a Word", ''The Days of Grays'''s "Juliet"; ''The Ninth Hour (album), The Ninth Hour'''s "Till Death's Done Us Apart"]
Track listing
Personnel
;Sonata Arctica
*Tony Kakko − vocals, additional keyboards
*Jani Liimatainen − guitars, acoustic guitars (on tracks 11, 14)
*Marko Paasikoski − bass guitar
*Henrik Klingenberg − lead keyboards, hammond organ, piano (on track 2)
*Tommy Portimo − drums
;Additional personnel
*Selestina Choir on "In Black and White", "Under Your Tree", "To Create a Warlike Feel" and "Caleb" conducted by Tarja Vanhala.
*Acoustic guitars, Bouzouki, Chromaharp, Cavaquinho and Q-chord on "They Follow", "Under Your Tree", "The Harvest", "It Won't Fade" and "Fly With the Black Swan" by Peter Engberg.
*Finnish vocals in "To Create a Warlike Feel" by Jarkko Martikainen
*Opening narration in "Caleb" by Milla V
*Vocals, "whatevergod..." ("Caleb") and backing vocals, "just passion and rage" ("In Black and White") performed by Starbuck.
;String orchestra on "Good Enough Is Good Enough"
* Tuomas Airola − cello
* Elar Kuiv − violin
* Kati Niemelä − violin/viola
* Anna-Leena Kangas − viola
* Oskari Hannula − double bass
* Bowed string instruments arranged and conducted by Tuomas Airola.
Charts
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
Sonata Arctica albums
2007 albums
Nuclear Blast albums