Sonata Arctica are back in full force! Fuelled by enthusiastic reactions to their recent digital single, "First In Line", the melodic metal quintet are pleased to provide the first details about of their long-awaited new studio album, titled Clear Cold Beyond, which will hit the shelves on March 8 via Atomic Fire.

The album contains 10 tracks reviving the band's penchant for power metal-esque tunes following their trip to acoustic landscapes during the pandemic. Clear Cold Beyond is packed with strong songs and fuses the best of all periods of Sonata Arctica's multifaceted work: From high-speed anthems such as the aforementioned "First In Line" and "California" to emotion-laden tracks such as "The Best Things" and the closing title track, this record offers something for each and every Sonata Arctica fan.

The album's artwork, reminiscent of their early works, was created by Niko Anttila and the band returned to mixing engineer Mikko Karmila (Finnvox Studios; Ecliptica [1999] - Stones Grow Her Name [2012]). Final mastering was handled by Svante Forsbäck, who has also been part of other Sonata Arctica productions.

Singer Tony Kakko comments: "We've felt for a while now that we needed to get heavier after a couple of unintentionally softer albums. We still love those albums, but in terms of finding cornerstone songs for a feel-good melodic metal show, the previous album didn't have much to offer. We're getting back to metal after all that feels like a fresh start, and the new songs have been so much fun to write and record: More speed and songs that people can and want to sing along to. We can't wait to hit the road with this album and see how the crowds react to us being back at it."

Clear Cold Beyond tracklisting:

"First In Line"
"California"
"Shah Mat"
"Dark Empath"
"Cure For Everything"
"A Monster Only You Can't See"
"Teardrops"
"Angel Defiled"
"The Best Things"
"Clear Cold Beyond"

Bonus Tracks (digipak + vinyl only):
"A Ballad For The Broken"
"Toy Soldiers" (Martika cover)

"First In Line":

Further details - including various pre-order options - will be announced very soon, and another new track will be launched simultaneously. Make sure to pre-save "A Monster Only You Can't See", here.

A bunch of festival appearances in support of Clear Cold Beyond have already been announced, while even more dates for Sonata Arctica's usually busy live schedule are still to be added in course of time.

Live dates:

March
16 - Laukaa, Finland - Peurunka Areena

May
3 - Kopervik, Norway - Karmøygeddon Metal Festival
11 - Bomal-sur-Ourthe, Belgium - Durbuy Rock Festival
31-June 6 - Pilsen, Czech Republic - Metalfest

June
28-30 - Helsinki, Finland - Tuska Festival

July
31-August 3 - Wacken, Germany - Wacken Open Air

August
7-10 - Villena, Spain -  Leyendas del Rock

Lineup:

Tony Kakko - vocals
Elias Viljanen - guitars
Pasi Kauppinen - bass
Henrik "Henkka" Klingenberg - keyboards
Tommy Portimo - drums

(Photo - Jaakko Manninen)