Sonata Arctica - Manchester Review

Given that prior to May this year I had not visited Manchester since 2019, it felt strange to be back in the city a mere five months on. Given the distance between home and Manchester, trips so far north are rare. Generally there is usually a closer or more logistically sensible option, especially given that I can get to London in around two-thirds of the time, but sometimes Manchester is the best option for a gig - and it is somewhere that I would like to visit more despite the distance, as I am just not that familiar with it. Bruce Springsteen did not leave me with much of a choice when his 2025 European tour included UK shows in only Manchester and Liverpool, even though it was great to experience the new Co-op Live, whereas my latest trip was more about tying into existing plans than anything else. As I will write about here in due course, after my night in Manchester I travelled down to London for a night with Helloween - but kicking off the power metal party the night before at the Academy 2 in the heart of the university campus was Finland's Sonata Arctica. Sonata Arctica were one of the first proper power metal bands that I got into back in the late 2000s, with 2009's The Days of Grays being the first album of theirs I picked up new, but in more recent years I had somewhat drifted away from the band. I am not sure that there is a specific reason for this, as I have generally liked their more recent albums on the whole and they never disappointed live, but I think that, in general, I moved away from power metal somewhat - meaning that Sonata Arctica naturally received less attention. Prior to this past weekend I had seen the band live three times - but the most recent occasion came back in 2016 at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, which was nine years ago now. The first of the three was still the best, which was back in 2011 at the Wulfrun Hall in Wolverhampton, but that was likely when my Sonata Arctica fandom was at its peak - meaning that I was seeing a real favourite at the time. The band have returned to the UK since 2016, but perhaps not as regularly as they once did - with gigs largely limited to London. I remember looking at all of them but they did not make logistical sense at the time - so I was looking forward to seeing them live again after quite a few years and to check out a new venue in Manchester. I had been to the building before, as I saw Queensrÿche at the Club Academy back in 2019 (my last visit to the city prior to this year), but the Academy 2 is a bigger space - similar to the Wulfrun Hall which, as mentioned, was the site of my first Sonata Arctica live experience. Another draw to the show was the American symphonic metal act Seven Spires - who supported Sonata Arctica on all three of their recent UK shows. I have only started listening to Seven Spires recently, so am still not overly familiar with them, but I really like what I have heard so I was also looking forward to seeing how they came across live. Due to difficulties in getting from the South West to Manchester at a reasonable time on a Sunday, I broke the journey in two by stopping overnight in Birmingham. Industrial action on the railways meant that my trip from Plymouth to Birmingham was on a coach, but in fairness the trip went smoothly - and it was back on the train on Sunday for the second leg to Manchester.

Before Sonata Arctica and Seven Spires, though, there was another support act - with the UK's own Dendera getting 30 or so minutes to warm up the crowd prior to the touring party taking over. Dendera are a five-piece that I have come across a few times over the years - and I would consider myself something of a casual fan. I enjoyed last year's Mask of Lies (which I reviewed here) - and it had been a while since I last saw them so I was looking forward to their set. They only had time for five songs, but the band made their time count - showcasing their newer, heavier material, with three songs from the latest album and a couple of slightly older tunes. Despite starting out as more of a traditional heavy metal band, Dendera now exhibit something of a metalcore-adjacent sound. Frontman Ashley Edison is still the star of the show, with his impressive vocal range and power - but Steve Main (vocals/guitar) is now quite a big presence vocally, too, with his harsh vocals adding a lot to the band's sound. Despite Seven Spires' heavier side, Dendera were the heaviest band on the bill overall - but this did not seem to put the power metal-loving crowd off from having a good time. Dendera seemed pretty well-received from the off, then, with two big anthems in Mask of Lies and Scream in Silence kicking things off. A few around me seemed to know Dendera's songs, but even those who did not generally seemed to be having a good time. When the band started their set, the room was only around a third full - but by the time they finished it was around two-thirds full - which was how it largely remained for the rest of the evening. A decent turn-out for a power metal show outside of London on a Sunday night - and there was a great atmosphere in the room throughout all three sets. Despite being heavier, though, Dendera still had plenty of melody up their sleeves. Perhaps this was less obvious during the more overtly heavy Inside My Head, which was likely the heaviest tune of the night, with even Edison sounding grittier than usual during it. The heavier tune allowed Main and fellow guitarist David Stanton to riff and solo away, though, and it was a good set centrepiece. The two slightly older songs were left to last, then, with the big anthem The End of Days seeing a fair bit of singing from the Dendera fans around me. It felt a little more expansive than the more concise newer tracks, but the heaviness was still there - before Reborn rounded out a short, but sweet, set nicely. Dendera are one of those bands that do what they do well - and it was nice to catch up with them again and hear some of the newer songs live. The setlist was:

Face to Face

Mask of Lies

Scream in Silence

Inside My Head

The End of Days

Reborn

It was only around 15 minutes later that the lights went down and the American symphonic metal four-piece Seven Spires took to the stage. Calling them a symphonic metal act seems to do them a bit of a disservice really given their diversity - and it was not long before the band's dramatic and chameleon-like music was on full show. They had around 45 minutes and managed to represent all four of their albums - and it was the epic Songs Upon Wine-Stained Tongues which kicked things off. Moving back and forth between symphonic black metal and more traditional power metal, thanks to the huge vocal diversity of frontwoman Adrienne Cowan, Seven Spires do not really sound like anyone else. From genuine blast beats one moment, to legato tapping runs from Peter de Reyna (bass guitar/vocals) the next, to shredded guitar solos from Jack Kosto (guitar) to round everything out - the band are not always easy on the ear but I really like their sense of adventure. I have enjoyed the albums of theirs that I have heard to date, but I would not call myself a fully-fledged fan as yet. There is still a lot for me to discover - but it was great seeing the band pull off this complex music live. Cowan is a great frontwoman, too, and quite different from most symphonic metal leading ladies - which is meant as a compliment. She just has a great vibe about her - and her black metal-esque shrieks filled the room with venom, whilst her clean chorus vocals were full of smouldering power. Not every song by the band is quite as bombastic, though. Songs like Ghost of Yesterday and the more overtly-melodic Succumb, the latter of which came later, felt a bit more easy on the ear - but vaudevillian craziness allowed The Cabaret of Dreams to really stand out, whilst it was perhaps Love's Souvenir which showcased the band at their most diverse. It opened in an almost lounge-jazz style, with Cowan singing against a backdrop of percussive drums and busy bass playing - before it later evolved into a full-on black metal workout with some extremely intense drumming from newest recruit Dylan Gowan and some proper progressive metal soloing. The song never stayed still, and perhaps can overreach a little at times at the expense of strong melody, but it was nevertheless impressive to hear live. By this point there was not much time left - and the powerful Gods of Debauchery rounded things out, with Cowan once again showcasing her venomous side throughout. I feel like Seven Spires are a band that one day I will really love - but at the the moment I am still learning, and seeing them live for the first time was a treat. The setlist was:

A Fortress Called Home

Songs Upon Wine-Stained Tongues

Ghost of Yesterday

The Cabaret of Dreams

Choices

Succumb

Love's Souvenir 

Wanderer's Prayer

Gods of Debauchery 

Following a half an hour or so break to clear the stage, the lights went down and Sonata Arctica stepped out for the last time as part of their Clear Cold Beyond (which I reviewed here) world tour. Clearly wanting to leave the best until last, three UK shows brought over a year's worth touring to a close - and the band were in good spirits as a result. Given Clear Cold Beyond being something of a return to their early sound, the set was largely focused around classic power metal anthems - with much of their recent catalogue ignored. This meant that the set included a number of songs I had not seen the band do live before - or for quite a few years. Hitting the stage to a symphonic intro, the band immediately hit the crowd with two of the new songs - with the fast-paced First in Line and the somewhat more atmospheric Dark Empath showcasing two sides of the band from the off. The sound mix was pretty clear right away, too, with frontman Tony Kakko very audible above the rest of the band - whilst the keyboards were able to cut through, ensuring that Henrik Klingenberg's (keyboards/vocals) melodies always gave the set an appropriate amount of flash. Kakko has always been a great frontman - but he seemed in an especially jovial mood on Sunday. He took plenty of opportunities to joke with the crowd in between songs - and it was clear that the current touring cycle had been a success. The band were clearly looking forward to a bit of a break, too, before tackling their 30th anniversary celebrations next year alongside working on a new album. The set largely reflected the band's upbeat mood, too, with Flag in the Ground and Angel Defiled both coming early on in the set to present more faster-paced tracks to the crowd - who lapped up every shredded solo from Elias Viljanen (guitar/vocals) and double bass drum pattern from Tommy Portimo. There were slower moments, too, such as the emotive ballad Tallulah which the crowd helped Kakko sing - whilst the mid-paced majesty of The Last Amazing Grays took me back to seeing the band live for the first time in 2011. Much of the back-end of the set was very much power metal 101, though. Kakko said that San Sebastian (Revisited) was likely the first true power metal song he ever wrote - whilst the storming My Land was a treat for long-time fans towards the end. The two big favourites from 1999's Ecliptica were, unsurprisingly, the set's big sing-a-long moments, though, with the slightly more delicate Replica seeing plenty of singing - before a rousing FullMoon rounded out the main set, with plenty of jumping and singing during the bouncy chorus. There was time for a couple more, though, and a two-song encore followed. More upbeat power metal was served up in the form of the rarely played these days Wolf & Raven - whilst the ever-present Don't Say a Word acted as a great closing statement as it always does, with Viljanen and Klingenberg trading solos. The usual, rather silly, Vodka outro was also included - and the gig, and therefore tour, ended on a high. The setlist was:

First in Line

Dark Empath

Flag in the Ground

I Have a Right

Angel Defiled

Tallulah

The Last Amazing Grays

San Sebastian (Revisited)

Broken

Replica

My Land

FullMoon

-

Wolf & Raven

Don't Say a Word/Vodka

Following a nine year gap it was great to catch up with Sonata Arctica live again last weekend. It was good to also see a pretty healthy turnout to a power metal show outside of London - and the atmosphere was good in the room throughout. A strong bill helped, and I am sure that everyone who turned up went home happy. The band will not have much of a break despite their current touring cycle now being over - as they will be celebrating their 30th anniversary next year. They are also undertaking a lengthy European tour with Beast in Black later in the year - which I shall be attending in London.