The Days of Grays
The Days of Grays | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 8 September 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 | ||||
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Singles from The Days of Grays | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Lords of Metal | 62/100[2] |
The Metal Circus | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Metal Storm | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Metal Symphony | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Days of Grays is the sixth full-length studio album by Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica. The album was released in South America on 8 September 2009, on 16 September in Finland, 18 September in Europe and 22 September 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 26 August. 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]
The track "Juliet" continues the so called Caleb saga, a series of songs that started on Silence's "The End of This Chapter", was continued on Reckoning Night's "Don't Say a Word", Unia's "Caleb" and would be later continued on The Ninth Hour's "Till Death's Done Us Apart"[12] and Talviyö's "The Last of the Lambs".[13]
"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 are 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 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
13. | "In the Dark" | 5:21 |
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 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
13. | "In My Eyes You're a Giant" | 4:42 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
13. | "Nothing More" | 3:55 |
14. | "In My Eyes You're a Giant" | 4:42 |
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[16] |
Finnish Albums Chart | 2[16][17] |
Ö3 Austria Top 40 | 52[16][18] |
Dutch Albums Chart | 50[16][19] |
French Album Charts | 41[16] |
German Albums Chart | 24[20] |
Swedish Music Charts | 31[16] |
Swiss Music Charts | 26[16][21] |
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 | 8 September 2009 |
Finland | 16 September 2009 |
Japan | 16 September 2009 |
Rest of Europe | 18 September 2009 |
North America | 22 September 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.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Sonata Arctica: New Album Details Revealed". blabbermouth.net. July 9, 2009. Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "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.
- ^ "Sonata Arctica reveals details about Finnish Tour 2018". Sonata Arctica's official Facebook page. Facebook. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
- ^ Giffin, Brian (3 September 2019). "SONATA ARCTICA // A Little Understanding". Hysteria Magazine. Hysteria Media PTY LTD. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "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. Archived from the original on 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "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.
- Sonata Arctica albums
- 2009 albums
- Nuclear Blast albums