Finnish metal quintet Sonata Arctica have re-recorded their debut record Ecliptica. The official press release can be read below:
Finnish melodic metal heroes Sonata Arctica have been keeping themselves very busy lately. Having successfully released their eighth studio album Pariah’s Child this past April – which debuted at #1 in Finland and at #6 on the American Billboard Heatseekers chart – and poised to launch their world tour, band members found the time to re-record their defining 1999 debut album Ecliptica, known to many fans as Sonata’s flawless beginning fifteen years ago.
Keyboard player Henrik “Henkka” Klingenberg shares the back-story on how the project came to be:
“When it first was suggested to us by our Japanese label that we’d re-record our debut album Ecliptica, it felt a bit weird, but somehow the idea grew on us. Being that only Tony [Kakko, vocalist] and Tommy [Portimo, drummer] played on the original one, we thought that it would be a fun thing to do, to give these great songs another run. We’re definitely not trying to re-write history: the original Ecliptica is the starting point of this band and a very special album with a certain feel of innocence and enthusiasm which cannot be recreated as such since we’re not teenagers anymore. Having said that, this new version is more of a tribute and an update on how these songs sound when played by our current line-up. We wanted to stay true to the original album as much as possible and not turn this into some weird re-arranged project where you couldn’t tell which song was being played. So here it is, the 15th Anniversary version of Ecliptica. Hope you enjoy it. We certainly had a good time digging into these songs and laying down the tracks.”
Ecliptica – Revisited: 15th Anniversary Edition will be released exclusively in North America via the Nuclear Blast USA Webshop. The track listing is:
1. Blank File
2. My Land
3. 8th Commandment
4. Replica
5. Kingdom For A Heart
6. Fullmoon
7. Letter To Dana
8. UnOpened
9. Picturing The Past
10. Destruction Preventer
11. I Can’t Dance (Genesis cover)