Unia (English: Dreams ), released on 25 May 2007, is the fifth full-length studio album by the power metal band Sonata Arctica , following the album Reckoning Night . The first single from the album was " Paid in Full ", released on 27 April 2007. This is also the last album that features guitarist Jani Liimatainen , who was later replaced by Elias Viljanen after the album was released.
6-624: The album was mixed at Finnvox Studios , and mastered at Cutting Room Studios in Stockholm , Sweden . The album was also released as a limited edition noble book in 7" size (1000 copies), exclusively available via mailorder from Nuclear Blast records. The limited edition came with a differing track listing and bonus tracks "To Create a Warlike Feel" and "Out in the Fields". Unia is darker and more aggressive than Sonata Arctica 's earlier work, with mid-tempo songs, more inclusion of 7 string guitars and
12-526: A minimal amount of solos. It has been described as a significant "turning point". Vocalist Tony Kakko has once admitted that Unia being released just after Reckoning Night "was probably a shock to many people". He also described it as "a liberating experience. From there we took slowly some other direction". Commenting further on the album, he also stated: Back then our band thought we are in some kind of pit and that we needed to do something different. To be honest, in that time it would have been better to do
18-411: A solo album, but there was no time nor possibility for it. Unia is one of the closest albums to me personally. Drummer and founding member Tommy Portimo said that Unia "brought many good things. I think our band needed that little shaking. [...] That album felt very natural. Although we realized it was very far from what we were before. But it was just a natural shaking." The track "Caleb" continues what
24-544: Is a recording studio located in Pitäjänmäki , Helsinki , Finland. It was founded by Erkki Ertesuo, Kurt Juuranto and Lejos Inc. in 1965 and is the longest running studio recording facility in Finland. The original multi-track recording equipment and continuous technical updates of the studio machines and acoustics soon made Finnvox the most sought after studio in the country. Finnish artists that recorded at Finnvox in
30-877: The 1970s include Rauli Somerjoki , M. A. Numminen and their bands, Wigwam , Agit-prop and many others. Up until the 1990s, Finnvox also operated a vinyl record mastering and pressing facility, which was later converted to new studio rooms and a mixing and recording room for film and TV productions . Currently, Finnvox occupy 2000 square feet and has nine studio rooms, five of which are used for recording and mixing, three for mastering and editing and one for film and TV productions. Many metal bands have used Finnvox Studios for recording, mixing or mastering their albums including Sonata Arctica , Nightwish , Lordi , Finntroll , Stratovarius , HIM , Moonsorrow , Holy Knights , Ram-Zet , Throes of Dawn , Grenouer , Apocalyptica and many more. The mastering abilities of technician Mika Jussila in particular are much requested in
36-602: The band refers to as "the so-called Caleb saga", a series of songs that started on Silence 's "The End of This Chapter" and is continued on Reckoning Night 's " Don't Say a Word ", The Days of Grays 's "Juliet"; The Ninth Hour 's "Till Death's Done Us Apart" and Talviyö 's "The Last of the Lambs". All tracks are written by Tony Kakko , songs arranged by Sonata Arctica Finnvox Studios 60°13′16″N 24°51′4″E / 60.22111°N 24.85111°E / 60.22111; 24.85111 Finnvox Studios
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