SONATA ARCTICA announce new album The Ninth Hour
Only two years after the release of Pariah’s Child and a massive World Tour, the Finnish Melodic Metal quintet Sonata Arctica are already back for more – their ninth masterpiece entitled The Ninth Hour will see the light of day on October 7th.
Once again, the album was produced by Sonata Arctica themselves and mixed by Pasi Kauppinen, to create a typical yet refreshing sound that defines the spirit of the band in the year 2016.
“The studio work for the new record started seriously in mid-April 2016 in several home studios around Finland,” singer Tony Kakko explains. “But the main recording and mixing took place at the Studio57 in Alaveteli, Finland. It functions as a kind of centre point and all work finally ends up there. We aimed to create another melodic, beautiful, surprising SONATA ARCTICA album… Did it turn out that way? I surely think so. But maybe I should leave that for you to decide!”
After a North American tour with their friends from Nightwish plus many headline shows around the globe, the band was once again able to take a look at the entire world as it is at the moment – on the edge of a possible destruction. This spirit is reflected in the new artwork of The Ninth Hour.
Tony comments – “The artwork of our ninth studio album The Ninth Hour depicts a future utopian landscape on the background. Nature and human technologies are in balance. In the middle, we have an hourglass contraption with a knob for us to meddle with. The right-hand side cup represents the nature side with no humans left, on the left, we have the human dystopia after we have destroyed Nature. The idea I had was, that turning the knob will tilt the hourglass in one direction or another, and the other cup will slowly empty and that future will be erased.”
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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGp0kms-GEk[/embedyt]
Right after the summer festival season and the release of their anticipated record, the band will embark on a European tour together with their label mates Twilight Force to play the new songs to their fans:
07.10.16 NOR – Trondheim, Byscenen
08.10.16 SE – Borlänge, Liljan
09.10.16 SE – Huskvarna, Folkets Park
11.10.16 DK – Copenhagen, Pumpehuset
12.10.16 DE – Hamburg, Markthalle
13.10.16 NL – Haarlem, Patronaat
14.10.16 NL – Tilburg, 013
15.10.16 UK – London, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
16.10.16 FR – Paris, La Machine du Moulin Rouge
18.10.16 FR – Strasbourg, La Laiterie
19.10.16 CH – Pratteln, Konzertfabrik Z7
20.10.16 IT – Milan, Alcatraz
21.10.16 DE – Mannheim, Alte Seilerei
22.10.16 DE – Bochum, Zeche
Or catch the band on their US tour with Leaves’ Eyes and Omnium Gatherum:
06.11. USA Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
07.11. USA Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
08.11. USA Clifton Park, NY – Upstate Concert Hall
09.11. USA Philadelphia, PA – The Trocadero
11.11. USA Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
12.11. USA Hartford, CT – Webster Theater
13.11. CDN Montreal, QC – Club Soda
14.11. CDN Ottawa, ON – Mavericks
16.11. CDN Kitchener, ON – Dallas
17.11. USA Columbus, OH – Park Street Saloon
18.11. USA Westland, MI – Token Lounge
19.11. USA Pittsburgh, PA – Altar Bar
21.11. USA Milwaukee, WI – Rave
22.11. USA Minneapolis, MN – Mill City Nights
24.11. CDN Regina, SK – The Exchange
25.11. CDN Calgary, AB – Dickens
26.11. CDN Edmonton, AB – Starlite Room
28.11. CDN Vancouver, BC – The Venue
29.11. USA Seattle, WA – El Corazon
30.11. USA Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
02.12. USA San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
03.12. USA San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick
04.12. USA Anaheim, CA – The Grove
05.12. USA Tempe, AZ – Club Red
06.12. USA El Paso, TX – Tricky Falls
08.12. USA Englewood, CO – Gothic Theater
09.12. USA Lawrence, KS – Granada
10.12. USA Dallas, TX – Trees
11.12. USA McAllen, TX – Cine El Rey
13.12. USA San Antonio, TX – Alamo Music Hall
14.12. USA Houston, TX – Scout Bar
16.12 USA Lake Buena Vista, FL – House Of Blues
17.12. USA Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
