Lion Music is due to release a special edition of SONATA ARCTICA guitarist Elias Viljanen’s 2002 debut solo release, Taking The Lead. The re-release sees the original 12 track instrumental tour-de-force packaged with the added bonus of a professionally shot previously unreleased seven track live DVD entitled Evil Spirit Live, which contains material from Viljanen's two solo albums released on Lion Music.

Some nine years after original release Taking The Lead is still regarded as one as one of the best debuts of instrumental rock/metal guitar to have emerged in the 21st century from a then unknown guitarist, and Viljanen has built a reputation that has seen him advance into the upper tier of hard rock shredders founded on the solid foundations of this debut solo release.

Fans of highly charged guitar instrumentals will find much to enjoy within Taking The Lead thanks to its heavy dose of melody intertwined with the thrilling guitar flash and virtuosity for which Elias is known. The quality of material saw the album upon original release end up with a top 10 rank in guitar9.com’s 2003 end of year best sellers chart. The album even attracted the attention of guitar legend STEVE VAI, who had gotten hold of the album and subsequently sent Viljanen some positive feedback on the release.

The new dual CD/DVD version of Taking The Lead hits the streets on 19th August 2011.

In a recent chat at Sonisphere Helsinki with RockAAA.com, Sonata Arctica revealed plans to express their lighter side in their forthcoming new album after claiming they have had enough of showcasing their dark side. Frontman Tony Kakko commented:

“Every album is a surprise and it’s too early to say too much. It won’t actually be darker. Pretty much vice-versa. We’ve gone quite deep down that road, the dark side, so I think it would be nice to explore the lighter side and smile for a reason.”

More details coming soon.

As previously reported, Sonata Arctica have been confirmed to play the Satama Open Air 2011 on August 6th, which takes place in Kemi, Finland. Go to this location for event information.

Their summer festival schedule is now as follows:

July

15 - Kavarna Rock Fest - Kavarna, Bulgaria
16 - Bang Your Head - Balingen, Germany

August

6 - Satama Open Air 2011 - Kemi, Finland
12 - Rock Pod Kamenom - Snina, Slovakia
13 - ARTmania Festival - Sibiu, Romania
14 - Sziget Festival - Budapest, Hungary