SONATA ARCTICA have issued the following announcement in the wake of rumours that they have parted ways with guitarist Jani Liimatainen:

"As many already know, our guitarist Jani Liimatainen has been absent from the lineup this spring and summer. The reason was his messing around with his compulsory military/civil/prison duty, or rather, complete failure to take care of it.

This matter, and everything that goes with it, caused a split between Jani and the other band members. This split was impossible to mend without Jani's help and co-operation.

Therefore we would like to make known the following: During fall of '06 and spring of '07, Jani's personal matters and actions drove us to a situation where we had no option but to ask Jani to leave the band.

Jani was notified of this in May, and the separation was amicable. We wanted to give Jani the chance to get his life together before making this public, which is why we didn't make this announcement earlier. We wish Jani well on his chosen path.

'Show must go on,' so, facing the facts, we hereby humbly announce that Elias Viljanen is from this day forward a full and official member of Sonata Arctica. Throughout this summer, on many occasions, Elias has shown himself to be able to fill the big boots Jani left behind.

We hope our friends and our fans understand that this was the only choice left for us to make so that our band could continue. Sonata Arctica has always been, and always will be, more than the sum of its parts. The band has become for us a way of life, a lifeline that simply can not be cut off.

A long 'Unia' tour lies in front of us.

We extend Elias a warm welcome to the Sonata family, and we hope the fans will, too. Sonata Arctica is whole again.

See you on the road!"

Sonata Arrctica's tour schedule is as follows:

September

7 - Circo Volador - Mexico City, Mexico
8 - Café Iguana - Monterrey, Mexico
9 - HRL - Guadalajara, Mexico
12 - Ridglea Theater - Ft. Worth, TX
14 - Launch Pad - Albuquerque, NM
15 - Clubhouse - Tempe, AZ
16 - Key Club - Los Angeles, CA
17 - Galaxy Theater - Santa Ana, CA
19 - Bluebird Theater - Denver, CO
21 - The Metro - Chicago, IL
22 - Harpo's - Detroit, MI
23 - Peabody's Down Under - Cleveland, OH
24 - Opera House - Toronto, ON
26 - Salle Albert Rosseau - Quebec City, QC
27 - The Medley - Montréal, QC
28 - The Chance Theater - Poughkeepsie, NY
29 - The Palladium - Worcester, MA
30 - B.B. King's - New York, NY

October

2 - The Trocadero - Philadelphia, PA
3 - Jaxx - Springfield, VA
5 - ProgPower USA VIII - Atlanta, GA
6 - Culture Room - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
7 - The Haven - Winter Park, FL
9 - The Meridian - Houston, TX
31 - Arenan - Stockholm, Sweden

November

1 - Rockefeller - Oslo, Norway
3 - Lisebergshallen - Göteborg, Sweden
4 - Mejeriet - Lund, Sweden
5 - Markthalle - Hamburg, Germany
7 - Live Music Hall - Cologne, Germany
8 - LKA-Longhorn - Stuttgart, Germany
9 - Z7 - Pratteln, Switzerland
10 - All Kart Halle - Kaufbeuren, Germany
12 - Carling Academy - London, UK
13 - Elysée Montmartre - Paris, France
14 - Transbordeur - Lyon, France
16 - Heineken - Madrid, Spain
17 - Razzmatazz II - Barcelona, Spain
19 - Alcatraz - Milano, Italy
20 - Petöfi Hall - Budapest, Hungary
21 - Planet Music - Vienna, Austria
23 - Garage - Saarbrücken, Germany
24 - Hof Ter Lo - Antwerp, Belgium
25 - 013 - Tilburg, Holland
26 - Melkweg - Amsterdam, Holland