Man, I think this is the album most Sonata fans have been waiting for. The goofiness from Pariah’s Child is gone (“Half A Marathon Man”, “X Marks The Spot”) and here we have is a mixture of the gloominess of The Days Of Grays and the melodic wonder of Reckoning Night. The Ninth Hour is their most cohesive and strongest album since the breathtaking Reckoning Night.

Ironically, the first two singles released, “Closer To An Animal” and “Life” are the weakest tracks, though I enjoy the bursting happiness of the latter. One of Sonata’s strongest attributes is their way is connect with the listener through their lyrics and emotional melodies present in their ballads. The wolf song “Among The Shooting Stars” and the relationship focused “We Are What We Are” (the use of the flute adds a nice touch) are perfect examples of this. The tracks that will get listeners to perk up is the burner “Rise A Night” (Stratovarius anyone?), the sparkling ripper “Fairytale”, and the best song on this platter “Till Death’s Done Us Apart”, a slow build-up that erupts into some trademark riffing and keys with one of the catchiest verses Kakko has come up with. A lot of twist and turns in this crusher with Kakko delivering a crazed performance that only he could pull off.

The track that gets the most attention is “White Pearl, Black Oceans Part II”, a sequel to perhaps their best song period. The song is grandiose, but is more subdued than its predecessor. The way it picks up the tempo in the latter half causes a ruckus and is filled with the complete emotion the first one did. I have to say I was expecting a little bit more though, as the first one is so epic with its bombast and immaculate chorus, but “Part II” provides a stark contrast to the energy of the first one. 

The Finns have seemed to have found the magic that made them great in the first place. While the last few albums have had glimpses of brilliance, The Ninth Hour is a perfect blend of new and old as Kakko has delivered his most consistent songwriting in years and it reflects in the music. The only aspects that prevented a higher score is the “meh” “Candle Lawns” and the dreariness of closer “On The Faultline (Closure To An Animal)”, but rest assured the majority of this The Ninth Hour is on point and tips the power metal scale back in their favor.