Ecliptica


Ecliptica is the first full-length album by the power metal band Sonata Arctica. It was released in 1999 through Spinefarm Records in Europe and through Century Media in the United States. It's the only album featuring bassist Janne Kivilahti. In 2016, vocalist, keyboardist and songwriter Tony Kakko described the album as "like the extension of our demo, we didn't know what we were doing so that reflects on the album and makes kind of cute if you will."

Songs and themes

Regarding the track "Blank File", which covers the topic of privacy on the Internet, vocalist Tony Kakko once stated:
The theme would be again mentioned in the band's next album, Silence, on the track "Weballergy".
In the song "Letter to Dana", the title character, Dana O'Hara, is named after The X-Files's Dana Scully.

15th anniversary re-recording

In 2014 Sonata Arctica announced through their Facebook page that they had re-recorded the entire album for its 15th anniversary. The new edition is titled Ecliptica - Revisited; 15th Anniversary Edition and was released on October 24, 2014, with the same track-listing as the original regular edition release plus one unreleased bonus track.
Commenting on the album, keyboardist Henrik Klingenberg said:
The re-recording's first single was "Kingdom for a Heart", released digitally on September 12, 2014. According to Klingenberg, the song was chosen in order to "represent the overall sound of the album".
On an interview held after the album release, Klingenberg said the only significant changes applied to the album were the lower keys and the rearranged solos, and that the band resisted the "temptation" to give the songs a "complete overhaul". He also said most of the album was recorded in the band members' own home studios, during breaks from their Pariah's Child World Tour. He also commented:

Track listing

Personnel