I quite enjoy the later Sonata Arctica albums. Stones Grow her Name is really fucking stupid in parts and definitely reeks of influences the label might have. Ensiferum's latest album and the SA one both have this weird interlude at some point where there is some kind of salloon/bar atmosphere. Folk elements were never really part of the SA style but that's totally a thing that is popular in metal now so here is a banjo. Tis odd.
Having said that, I am always blown away by the sheer talent in that band. Henkka and Elias is such a godly combo. Couldn't imagine what the band would be like if Jani was still about. Unia and the Days of Grays were both really amazing albums, looking back. The speed/power metal thing they had going in their first few albums was awesome but it felt to me like the content they produced was maturing as time went on. I can't listen to old Stratovarius stuff. I just can't. There's this level of cheese that just doesn't age well. Same goes for SA in my book.
Aye, but as for Sonata Arctica, I still keep saying and holding that "Winterheart's Guild" is their best album, to me at least, Ecliptica is too Stratovarius influenced, Silence is better, Unia was the most amazing album in the sense of matureness in the band, Jani is great in there but definitely the "Stratovarius Influence" ended when Jani quit. Then The Days of Grays was fantastic, but having heard Nightwish "Dark Passion Play" is ridiculous to see how alike these two albums are in terms of how they were written. I understand that Tony and Tuomas Holopainen are great friends, but that was pretty stupid for me. However the sound was class; Stones Grow Her Name, didn't disappoint me but I wasn't blown away either, I loved songs like Alone in Heaven or The Day. The Wildfires were good, but not my favourites. I think that indeed Nuclear Blast is becoming more mainstream day by day, and in part I understand it with the awful lot of competition they have, and they don't want see their own end like Roadrunner Records did; but yeah, sometimes is too much.
Ensiferum are kinda of the same story but not as bad, they are just weird. This album was written almost entirely by Petri, which is ok but I prefer a thousand times Sami and Markus writing the songs. I think they were very ambitious with this album, they wanted something bigger than From Afar, but they didn't make it, for my taste at least. From Afar is fantastic from the beginning to the end, and Unsung Heroes tries to get there but it never does. I hope they keep in mind that music needs to be humble to be great.