Finnish Power Metal II: Sonata Arctica

Hello GMC!

Welcome to the second lesson of this the series based on Finnish Power Metal bands. I will be covering the style of some of the most important bands of Finland that play Power Metal. This time I’m covering “Sonata Arctica”. They originally assembled in 1995 and became very popular because of their great compositions.

Music Style:
Their style is close to the previous band that we covered in this series, Stratovarius. However there are some characteristic that make their music unique. Their songs are always melodic and very catchy and everything is leaded by the voice. They also have neoclassical influences and most of the songs have shred neoclassical solos and fast riffing. In this lesson I covered their faster side.

Tonality & Chord Progression:
Their compositions are usually in minor tonalities but you can also find many choruses that modulate to the relative major key. This tune is in E minor and I used chords from the natural minor tonality and also added the chord V major or dominant using the same concept that I explained in the previous Finnish Power Metal lesson. The scales that can be used on this one are E minor aeolian and E harmonic minor.

Techniques:
This is a rhythm metal lesson so we will use palm muting, alternate picking, only down strokes and pull off. It’s not an easy lesson because of the fast tempo but I think that different level player could give it a try, at least using the slower backing tracks.

Sound:
I used my Pod HD 500 to record this lesson. I used the Treadplate Dual Amp Model with a 4x12 2001 Treadplate Cab Model and a Screamer emulation. If you want the tone you can ask for it at my personal board. My guitar is a Gibson Les Paul Studio.

Tuning:
I used standard 440.

Tempo:
150 bpm.

Ok guys! Let’s start riffing!!