The Days of Grays
| The Days of Grays | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Sonata Arctica | ||||
| Released | September 16, 2009 | |||
| Recorded |
2009 at Tico Tico Studio (drums and bass) Fantom Studios and Magic-7 Studio (guitars) Lanceland 2 and Kakkos-studio (keyboards) Studio 57 (hammond organ) Kakkos-studio (vocals) Rock Valley-Studios (cello) Great Sounds Studio (female vocals) | |||
| Genre | Power metal, symphonic metal, progressive metal | |||
| Length | 59:20 | |||
| Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
| Producer | Tony Kakko, Sonata Arctica | |||
| Sonata Arctica chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The Days of Grays | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Lords of Metal | 62/100[2] |
| The Metal Circus | [3] |
| Metal Storm | [4] |
| Metal Symphony |  [5] |
The Days of Grays is the sixth full-length studio album by Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica. The album was released on September 16, 2009 in Finland, September 18 in Europe and September 22 in North America through Nuclear Blast.[6] The special edition of the album includes the album along with an orchestral CD as a digipak.[7][8]
It is the first album with guitarist Elias Viljanen and also the first since 1999's Ecliptica in which vocalist Tony Kakko also plays the keyboards.
History
Sonata Arctica keyboardist Henrik Klingenberg described the album as:
a bit darker and maybe not so complex as [2007's] "Unia". Nevertheless, it's definitely not a back-to-the-roots album with fast power metal. All the trademark SONATA stuff is on there, solos, lots of singing [and] some slower songs.— [6]
The first single from the album is "The Last Amazing Grays". It was released by Nuclear Blast Records only in Finland on August 26. The band ran a fan art contest to choose the artwork for their second announced single, "Flag in the Ground" which the press release calls "an uplifting story about a young couple fighting their way to freedom and their own land in North America back in early 1800s."[9] The winner of the contest was Simo Heikkinen from Finland.[10] The name for The Days of Grays apparently took a very long time to come to as the band had a name for the record that was deemed more appropriate "for a death metal band or something" according to Henrik Klingenberg. In a French interview, Tony Kakko stated that the original name was Deathaura, the name of a song on the album.[11]
"Everything Fades to Gray" features the lyrics "It's not fair, it's not fair, there was a time now" relating to the Twilight Zone episode Time Enough at Last and "The Truth Is Out There" is about the popular TV series The X-Files.
Track listing
All music by Tony Kakko except "Nothing More" by Henrik Klingenberg, all lyrics by Tony Kakko, songs arranged by Sonata Arctica.
All tracks written by Tony Kakko.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Everything Fades to Gray (Instrumental)" | 3:06 |
| 2. | "Deathaura"
| 7:58 |
| 3. | "The Last Amazing Grays" | 5:40 |
| 4. | "Flag in the Ground" | 4:08 |
| 5. | "Breathing" | 3:55 |
| 6. | "Zeroes" | 4:23 |
| 7. | "The Dead Skin" | 6:14 |
| 8. | "Juliet" | 5:59 |
| 9. | "No Dream Can Heal a Broken Heart" | 4:33 |
| 10. | "As If the World Wasn't Ending" | 3:49 |
| 11. | "The Truth Is Out There" | 5:03 |
| 12. | "Everything Fades to Gray (Full Version)" | 4:32 |
| Total length: | 59:20 | |
| Limited Edition bonus track | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 13. | "In the Dark" | 5:21 |
| Limited Edition "Orchestral Bonus CD"[7] | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Deathaura" | 7:56 |
| 2. | "The Last Amazing Grays" | 5:10 |
| 3. | "Flag in the Ground" | 3:55 |
| 4. | "Juliet" | 6:02 |
| 5. | "As If the World Wasn't Ending" | 3:56 |
| 6. | "The Truth Is Out There" | 5:06 |
| 7. | "In the Dark" | 5:22 |
| Total length: | 37:27 | |
| U.S. Edition bonus track | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 13. | "In My Eyes You're a Giant" | 4:42 |
| Japanese Edition bonus tracks[12] | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 13. | "Nothing More" | 3:55 |
| 14. | "In My Eyes You're a Giant" | 4:42 |
| Japanese Edition "Live Bonus CD" - Official bootleg live around Europe 2008[12][13] | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Paid in Full (Live in France)" | 4:26 |
| 2. | "Black Sheep (Live in Italy)" | 5:56 |
| 3. | "Draw Me (Live in Switzerland)" | 4:06 |
| 4. | "It Won't Fade (Live in France)" | 6:22 |
| 5. | "Replica (Live in Switzerland)" | 4:38 |
| 6. | "Don't Say a Word (Live in Switzerland)" | 6:08 |
| Total length: | 32:06 | |
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Album Charts | 41[14] |
| Finnish Albums Chart | 2[14][15] |
| Ö3 Austria Top 40 | 52[14][16] |
| Dutch Albums Chart | 50[14][17] |
| French Album Charts | 41[14] |
| German Albums Chart | 24[18] |
| Swedish Music Charts | 31[14] |
| Swiss Music Charts | 26[14][19] |
Personnel
- Tony Kakko – vocals, additional keyboards
- Elias Viljanen – guitar
- Marko Paasikoski – bass guitar
- Henrik Klingenberg – keyboards, Hammond
- Tommy Portimo – drums
- Johanna Kurkela – female vocals (on 2, 9)
- Perttu Kivilaakso (Apocalyptica) – Cello (on 1, 6, 11, 12 and "In My Eyes You're a Giant")
Release history
| Region | Date |
|---|---|
| South America | September 8, 2009 |
| Finland | September 16, 2009 |
| Japan | September 16, 2009 |
| Rest of Europe | September 18, 2009 |
| North America | September 22, 2009 |
References
- ↑ "The Days of Grays - Sonata Arctica | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
- ↑ "Sonata Arctica - The Days Of Grays | Review | Lords Of Metal metal E-zine - issue 95". Lordsofmetal.nl. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
- ↑ themetalcircus.com. "SONATA ARCTICA - The Days of Grays". The Metal Circus. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
- ↑ "Sonata Arctica - The Days Of Grays - Metal Storm". Metalstorm.ee. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
- ↑ Metal Symphony. "Sonata Arctica: The Days of Grays // Nuclear Blast ( PIAS Music )". Metal Symphony. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
- 1 2 "Sonata Arctica: New Album Details Revealed". blabbermouth.net. July 9, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
- 1 2 "SONATA ARCTICA | The days of grays - Nuclear Blast". Nuclearblast.de. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
- ↑ "Sonata Arctica | Official website". Sonataarctica.info. 2009-09-18. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
- ↑ "Sonata Artica Lets Fans Design Cover Artwork". blabbermouth.net. July 22, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
- ↑ "Winner of Artwork Contest". SonataArctica.info. August 18, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
- ↑ "INTERVIEW Tony Kakko, chanteur de Sonata Arctica". La Grosse Radio. August 15, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
- 1 2 "The Days Of Grays Sonata Arctica [CD]". Cdjapan.co.jp. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
- ↑ "The Days Of Grays Japan Limited Edition van Tony Kakko Fan Page JPN op Myspace". Blogs.myspace.com. 2009-08-23. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "swedishcharts.com - Sonata Arctica - The Days Of Grays". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-07-19.
- ↑ Suomen virallinen lista
- ↑ "Suchergebnisse in den österreichischen Charts" [Search results for the Austrian charts]. Charts.de (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2012-07-15.
- ↑ "Suchergebnisse in den niederlänischen Charts" [Search results for the Dutch charts]. Charts.de (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2012-07-15.
- ↑ "Suchergebnisse in den deutschen Charts" [Search results for the German charts]. Charts.de (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2012-07-15.
- ↑ "Suchergebnisse in den Schweizer Charts" [Search results for the Swiss charts]. Charts.de (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2012-07-15.