''Stones Grow Her Name'' is the seventh studio album by Finnish

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within a symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in co ...

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 ...

. It was released in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

on May 16, 2012, in Europe on May 18, 2012, in North America on May 22, 2012 and in Japan on May 23, 2012. It was the last album to feature longtime bassist

Marko Paasikoski 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 ...

. In a 2014 interview about the album's successor ''

Pariah's Child ''Pariah's Child'' is the eighth studio album by Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica. It was released on 28 March 2014 by Nuclear Blast. It is the first Sonata Arctica release with new bassist Pasi Kauppinen, who replaced Marko Paasikoski. ...

'', vocalist and songwriter

Tony Kakko Toni Kristian "Tony" Kakko (born 16 May 1975) is a Finnish musician, composer and vocalist. He is known as the vocalist, primary songwriter, and creative lead of the band Sonata Arctica since 1996. Biography Kakko was born in Kemi, Finland and ...

referred to it as "a rock album

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

than anything else", comparing it to the more back-to-the roots sound of the 2014 band's release. Yet in a 2019 interview promoting the band's then new album ''

Talviyö ''Talviyö'' ( Finnish for "winter night") is the tenth studio album by Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica. It was released on 6 September 2019 by Nuclear Blast. Background and recording The album was produced by the band and Mikko Tegelm ...

'', Kakko said ''Stones Grow Her Name'' marked "some kind of maturity point for us", citing him becoming a father for the first time as an influence.

Song information

Regarding the song "Cinderblox", Kakko stated: "Somewhere Close to You" was originally written for a possible solo release by Kakko, but ended up on the album. "Losing My Insanity" was originally written by Tony Kakko for

Ari Koivunen Ari Koivunen (born 7 June 1984) is a Finnish Heavy metal music, heavy metal singer who rose to fame as the winner of the Finnish singing competition Idols (Finland), Idols in 2007. He was the vocalist of the Finnish heavy metal band Amoral (ban ...

's '' Fuel for the Fire''. The final two tracks, "Wildfire, Part: II – One With the Mountain" and "Wildfire, Part: III – Wildfire Town, Population: 0" continue the story introduced in "Wildfire" from ''

Reckoning Night ''Reckoning Night'' is the fourth full-length studio album by the Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica, as well as the first to feature keyboardist Henrik Klingenberg. The track " Don't Say a Word" continues the so called Caleb saga, a series ...

''.

Track list

Tour Edition

On October 24, 2012 a special 2 disc "Tour Edition" of the album was released in Japan to commemorate the band's appearance at the

Loud Park Festival The is a heavy metal festival held annually at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City or Makuhari Messe in Chiba City, Japan. It's one of the biggest heavy metal festivals in Japan. The festival has featured both Japanese and international perfor ...

. The first disc contains the standard Japanese version of the album with "One-Two- Free-Fall" serving as the bonus track. The second disc features acoustic versions of "Only the Broken Hearts (Make You Beautiful)" "I Have a Right" "Alone In Heaven" and "Somewhere Close to You" respectively.

Personnel

– vocals, additional keyboards *

Elias Viljanen Elias "E.Vil" Einari Johannes Viljanen (born 8 July 1975) is a Finnish musician from Tampere, Finland, known for being the guitarist for Sonata Arctica since 2007. Viljanen joined Sonata Arctica in spring 2007 in order to replace Jani Liimatai ...

– guitars *

– bass *

Henrik Klingenberg Henrik "Henkka" Klingenberg (born 21 October 1978) is a Finnish keyboardist, keytarist and singer. He joined the Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica in late 2002 and currently resides in Kemi, Finland, when not on tour. Keyboardists he has ...

– keyboards *

Tommy Portimo 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 ...

– drums

Guest artists

* Mika Mylläri – trumpet on "Shitload of Money" *

Sakari Kukko Jyrki Sakari Kukko, (born 8 July 1953, Kajaani, Finland) is a Finnish musician.Rantala, Risto (main ed.): Who's who: Personal data about the current generation of Finns 2007. Helsinki: Otava, 2006. ISBN 951-1-20606-0. p.445. Career Kukko starte ...

– saxophone on "Shitload of Money" * Peter Engberg – acoustic guitar,

viola caipira The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

and

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

on "I Have a Right", "Alone in Heaven", "The Day", "Don't Be Mean", "Cinderblox" and "Wildfire, Part:II – One with the Mountain" *

Timo Kotipelto Timo Antero Kotipelto (born 15 March 1969) is a Finnish musician best known as the lead singer of the power metal band Stratovarius, whom he joined in 1994, as well as fronting his own band Kotipelto. Biography He studied vocals at the pop/ja ...

– additional backing vocals on "Only the Broken Hearts (Make You Beautiful)", "Shitload of Money", "I Have a Right" and "Alone in Heaven" * Lauri Valkonen – double bass at "Cinderblox" and "Wildfire, Part:II – One with the Mountain" *

Pekka Kuusisto Pekka Kuusisto (born 7 October 1976) is a Finnish musician. Biography Kuusisto comes from a musical lineage. His grandfather was the composer and organist Taneli Kuusisto, his father Ilkka Kuusisto, who had many functions in Finnish musical l ...

– violin at "Don't Be Mean", "Cinderblox", "Wildfire, Part:II – One with the Mountain" and "Wildfire, Part:III – Wildfire Town, Population: 0" * Anna Lavender – spoken parts on "I Have a Right" * Mikko P. Mustonen –

Orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

on "Wildfire, Part:III – Wildfire Town, Population: 0"

Additional personnel

* Masi Hukari – recording assistant and lyrics proofreader * Nino Laurenne – producer * Ahti Kortelainen – studio master technician * Mikko Karmila – mixing * Pelri Ahvenainen –

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproducti ...

* Ville – monitor technician * Svante Forsbäck –

mastering engineer Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the Audio mixing (recorded music), final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source ...

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stones Grow Her Name Sonata Arctica albums 2012 albums Nuclear Blast albums