Winterheart's Guild is the third studio album by the power metal band Sonata Arctica. It was released in 2003 through Spinefarm Records. In a 2014 interview, vocalist, keyboardist and songwriter Tony Kakko said inspiration for writing "The Ruins of My Life" came from the film Braveheart.[1] In 2019, he would refer to the album's recording process as a "nightmare" because he only had "two or three" songs ready when the band went in the studio.[2]

Winterheart's Guild
Studio album by
Released21 February 2003
RecordedSeptember – November 2002
StudioTico Tico Studio
GenrePower metal, symphonic metal
Length54:57
LabelSpinefarm
ProducerSonata Arctica
Sonata Arctica chronology
Songs of Silence – Live in Tokyo
(2002)
Winterheart's Guild
(2003)
Reckoning Night
(2004)

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
Lords of Metal90/100[4]
Sea of Tranquility     [5]
Sputnikmusic4/5[6]

Loudwire named the album at eleventh in their list "Top 25 Power Metal Albums of All Time."[7] Metal Hammer also included it in their 2016 list of 10 essential power metal albums.[8]

Track listing

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All songs written by Tony Kakko

No.TitleLength
1."Abandoned, Pleased, Brainwashed, Exploited"5:36
2."Gravenimage"7:00
3."The Cage"4:36
4."Silver Tongue"3:58
5."The Misery"5:08
6."Victoria's Secret"4:43
7."Champagne Bath"3:57
8."Broken"5:18
9."The Rest of the Sun Belongs to Me" (Japanese edition bonus track)4:22
10."The Ruins of My Life"5:14
11."Draw Me" (In the Japanese edition, the silence after 5:05 between studio outtakes are removed.)9:27
Total length:54:57

Personnel

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Technical personnel

  • Recorded by Ahti Kortelainen at Tico Tico Studios in September–November 2002
  • Mixed by Mikko Karmila at Finnvox Studios and mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios in November–December 2002.
  • Produced by Sonata Arctica

Charts

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Chart (2003) Peak
position
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[9] 3
French Albums (SNEP)[10] 63
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] 88
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[12] 18

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[13] Gold 24,986[13]

References

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  1. ^ Sabrina, Elise (February 25, 2014). "Tony Kakko (Sonata Arctica) | Interview". Metal Chest Of Wonders. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  2. ^ Giffin, Brian (3 September 2019). "SONATA ARCTICA // A Little Understanding". Hysteria Magazine. Hysteria Media PTY LTD. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  3. ^ Hinds, Andy. "Winterheart's Guild - Sonata Arctica | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  4. ^ Tuinman, Ferdinand. "Review Sonata Arctica - Winterheart's Guild". Lords of Metal. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  5. ^ Popke, Michael (May 24, 2003). "Review: "Sonata Arctica: Winterheart's Guild"". Sea of Tranquility. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  6. ^ Stagno, Mike (October 26, 2006). "Sonata Arctica - Winterheart's Guild (album review 2)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  7. ^ DiVita, Joe (July 5, 2017). "Top 25 Power Metal Albums of All Time". Loudwire. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  8. ^ Lawson, Dom (October 19, 2016). "The 10 essential power metal albums". Metal Hammer. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  9. ^ "Sonata Arctica: Winterheart's Guild" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Lescharts.com – Sonata Arctica – Winterheart's Guild". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sonata Arctica – Winterheart's Guild" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  12. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  13. ^ a b "Sonata Arctica" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
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