Stones Grow Her Name is the 7th full-length studio album by Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica. It was released in Finland on May 16, 2012, in Europe on May 18, 2012, in North America on May 22, 2012 and in Japan on May 23, 2012.[9][10] It was the last album to feature longtime bassist Marko Paasikoski.
Stones Grow Her Name | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 16, 2012 (Finland) May 18, 2012 (Europe) May 22, 2012 (North America) May 23, 2012 (Japan) | |||
Recorded | November 2011 at Studio 57, Nedervetil, Finland (bass, drums, hammond) January and February 2012 at Kakkoslaatu Studios (lead and backing vocals, additional keyboards) January and February 2012 at Sonic Pump Studios (trumpets, saxophones, acoustic guitars, viola caipira, banjos, violin, double bass, additional backing vocals, violin) January 2012 at Tico Tico Studio, Kemi, Finland (double bass)[1] | |||
Genre | Heavy metal, power metal, symphonic metal | |||
Length | 53:16 | |||
Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
Producer | Sonata Arctica | |||
Sonata Arctica chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Angry Metal Guy | 2.0/5[3] |
Metal.de | 8/10[4] |
MetalCrypt | 3.5/5[5] |
MetalReview | 71/100[6] |
Metal Storm | [7] |
Rock Hard | 8.5/10[8] |
In a 2014 interview about the album's successor Pariah's Child, vocalist and songwriter Tony Kakko referred to it as "a rock album [more] than anything else", comparing it to the more back-to-the roots sound of the 2014 band's release.[11] Yet in a 2019 interview promoting the band's then new album Talviyö, Kakko said Stones Grow Her Name marked "some kind of maturity point for us", citing him becoming a father for the first time as an influence.[12]
Song information
editRegarding the song "Cinderblox", Kakko stated:[13]
"As you might figure, it started out as a... joke. Me fooling around with this banjo sound I came across. Wrote a riff which turned into a song. And when we then decided it's gonna be recorded for this album all we had to do was to find someone to play the banjo. We did! [...] This is the one song that still makes me smile every time I hear it."
"Somewhere Close to You" was originally written for a possible solo release by Kakko, but ended up on the album.[11] "Losing My Insanity" was originally written by Tony Kakko for Ari Koivunen's Fuel for the Fire. The final two tracks, "Wildfire, Part: II – One With the Mountain" and "Wildfire, Part: III – Wildfire Town, Population: 0" continue the story introduced in "Wildfire" from Reckoning Night.
Track list
editAll tracks are written by Tony Kakko
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Only the Broken Hearts (Make You Beautiful)" | 3:23 |
2. | "Shitload of Money" | 4:52 |
3. | "Losing My Insanity" | 4:03 |
4. | "Somewhere Close to You" | 4:13 |
5. | "I Have a Right" | 4:47 |
6. | "Alone in Heaven" | 4:31 |
7. | "The Day" | 4:14 |
8. | "Cinderblox" | 4:03 |
9. | "Don't Be Mean" | 3:17 |
10. | "Wildfire, Part: II – One with the Mountain" | 7:53 |
11. | "Wildfire, Part: III – Wildfire Town, Population: 0" | 8:00 |
Total length: | 53:16 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "Tonight I Dance Alone" | 3:27 |
Total length: | 56:43 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "One-Two-Free-Fall" | 3:49 |
Total length: | 57:05 |
Tour Edition
editOn October 24, 2012 a special 2 disc "Tour Edition" of the album was released in Japan to commemorate the band's appearance at the Loud Park Festival. The first disc contains the standard Japanese version of the album with "One-Two- Free-Fall" serving as the bonus track. The second disc features acoustic versions of "Only the Broken Hearts (Make You Beautiful)" "I Have a Right" "Alone In Heaven" and "Somewhere Close to You" respectively.[16]
Personnel
edit- Tony Kakko – vocals, additional keyboards
- Elias Viljanen – guitars
- Marko Paasikoski – bass
- Henrik Klingenberg – keyboards
- Tommy Portimo – drums
- Mika Mylläri – trumpet on "Shitload of Money"
- Sakari Kukko – saxophone on "Shitload of Money"
- Peter Engberg – acoustic guitar, viola caipira and banjo on "I Have a Right", "Alone in Heaven", "The Day", "Don't Be Mean", "Cinderblox" and "Wildfire, Part:II – One with the Mountain"
- Timo Kotipelto – additional backing vocals on "Only the Broken Hearts (Make You Beautiful)", "Shitload of Money", "I Have a Right" and "Alone in Heaven"
- Lauri Valkonen – double bass at "Cinderblox" and "Wildfire, Part:II – One with the Mountain"
- Pekka Kuusisto – violin at "Don't Be Mean", "Cinderblox", "Wildfire, Part:II – One with the Mountain" and "Wildfire, Part:III – Wildfire Town, Population: 0"
- Anna Lavender – spoken parts on "I Have a Right"
- Mikko P. Mustonen – Orchestration on "Wildfire, Part:III – Wildfire Town, Population: 0"
- Masi Hukari – recording assistant and lyrics proofreader
- Nino Laurenne – producer
- Ahti Kortelainen – studio master technician
- Mikko Karmila – mixing
- Pelri Ahvenainen – recording engineer
- Ville – monitor technician
- Svante Forsbäck – mastering engineer
Charts
editChart (2012) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] | 29 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] | 131 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19] | 64 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] | 72 |
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[21] | 1 |
French Albums (SNEP)[22] | 74 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] | 24 |
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[24] | 13 |
Italian Albums (FIMI)[25] | 72 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[26] | 44 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[27] | 35 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[28] | 87 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[29] | 37 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] | 21 |
US Billboard Independent[31] | 43
|
Certifications
editRegion | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[32] | Gold | 12,362[32] |
References
edit- ^ a b c "Sonata Arctica: Making Of 'Stones Grow Her Name' Part 2 (Video)". Blabbermouth.net. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
- ^ "Stones Grow Her Name – Sonata Arctica | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
- ^ "Sonata Arctica – Stones Grow Her Name". Retrieved 2023-01-03.
- ^ "Sonata Arctica – Stones Grow Her Name". Retrieved 2023-01-03.
- ^ "Sonata Arctica – Stones Grow Her Name". Retrieved 2023-01-03.
- ^ "Sonata Arctica – Stones Grow Her Name". Retrieved 2023-01-03.
- ^ "Sonata Arctica – Stones Grow Her Name – Metal Storm". Metalstorm.ee. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
- ^ "Sonata Arctica – Stones Grow Her Name". Retrieved 2023-01-03.
- ^ "SONATA ARCTICA – "Stones Grow Her Name" album details released!". NuclearBlast.de. 21 February 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
- ^ "Sonata Arctica Unveil Details and Album Art from "Stones Grow Her Name"". SMNNews.com. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- ^ a b Sabrina, Elise (25 February 2014). ""In the early days, Sonata Arctica was called Happy Metal. I wondered what the fuck it was all about, because all the lyrics was really dark."". Metal Chest of Wonders. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ^ Giffin, Brian (3 September 2019). "SONATA ARCTICA // A Little Understanding". Hysteria Magazine. Hysteria Media PTY LTD. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
- ^ Wojtek, Gabriel (May 2012). "Sonata Arctica interview with Tony Kakko". Noizz Eater. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
- ^ "SONATA ARCTICA Stones grow her name". NuclearBlast.de. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
- ^ "Stones Grow Her Name Japan Release". Marquee.co.jp. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
- ^ "Stones Grow Her Name (Tour Edition) [SHM-CD] Sonata Arctica CD Album". CDJapan.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Sonata Arctica – Stones Grow Her Name" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Sonata Arctica – Stones Grow Her Name" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Sonata Arctica – Stones Grow Her Name" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sonata Arctica – Stones Grow Her Name" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "Sonata Arctica: Stones Grow Her Name" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Sonata Arctica – Stones Grow Her Name". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sonata Arctica – Stones Grow Her Name" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2012. 21. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "Italiancharts.com – Sonata Arctica – Stones Grow Her Name". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "ストーンズ・グロウ・ハー・ネーム". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Sonata Arctica – Stones Grow Her Name". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Sonata Arctica – Stones Grow Her Name". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Sonata Arctica – Stones Grow Her Name". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Sonata Arctica – Stones Grow Her Name". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "Sonata Arctica – Chart history – Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on 28 October 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Sonata Arctica" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.