Sonata Arctica was the first of the strong power metal trio performing on the Main Stage this day, which clearly made this into the power metal day of the festival. The others were Hammerfall and Sabaton…

Sonata Arctica usually don’t disappoint live, and this day was no exception.
Their strong power metal anthems, and soothing ballads, are a perfect match for a large festival audience out to test their voices with some sing-along friendly songs, and the band invite to just such an activity with normally very positive and humoristic approach on the stage.
This show saw drummer Tommy Portino as the wildest of all the performers, although the rest of the band not far behind, with the one exception of bassist Marko Paasikoski. For some reason this guy always appear to be pissed off about something when on stage, I can’t explain why...

“If you have nothing smart to say on stage, don’t say a word!”

I know this was only used as an intro to the song, but maybe Tony Kakko (vocals) should have heeded his own words for once. Not that he isn’t normally full of jokes and the born entertainer, but I felt that he passed the limit of pure silliness a few too many times at this show. Especially the yodelling didn’t go down quite the way I suppose it was intended, and I could quite understand why Henrik Klingenberg (keyboard) chose this time to take to the bottle...

If I count out the silly banter Kakko delivered between songs, this concert was quite enjoyable, although only a little above standard. It was above though, mind you.