Opener 'In Black and White' is one of the closest songs on the record to a traditional Sonata song, and sets the tone from the beginning for what will be a more demanding listen than previous records.
Songs like 'It Won't Fade' and 'Ride With the Black Swan' (two of the best songs on the album) fit this mold. Traditional choruses are usually present in the song, but don't necessarily appear according to a typical A-B-A-B pattern. The song structures usually appear chaotic at first glance but generally have some sense to them. The moods of these songs are less majestic and fantastical than brooding and difficult, less manic than on previous albums, and filled with a resigned disillusionment. There's nothing immediate, catchy, and anthemic a la 'The Cage' or 'Blank File', no ten-minute epics like 'The Power of One' or 'White Pearl, Black Oceans', the double-bass drumming is dialed way down, the bass is finally audible, the guitars are crunchier and more aggressive, and Tony's vocals are more varied and subtle (well - all things relative, anyway).
Through it all, 'Unia' kept sitting there, the black sheep (pun intended) of the first half of their career, waiting for me to have the patience to sit down with it and give it a real chance. I've been having a blast sifting through their first four albums, which have given me the biggest rush of excitement from a power metal act since those early days. For some reason, despite getting into metal in 2007 through symphonic power metal acts like Nightwish, Epica, After Forever, and even listening to - and liking - 'Paid In Full', the first single from Unia, I never really got around to listening to Sonata Arctica's discography until this year.
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