Time to dress warmly as winter is reigning in many parts of Europe, including Finland from where melodic metal titans, Sonata Arctica, deliver the perfect soundtrack for the cold season with the stormy opus, Clear Cold Beyond - stormy in the most positive way, of course. A fact that got cemented by select music journalists who could sneak an exclusive peek at the full record last month.

Today, the quintet have unveiled yet another taste of their long-awaited new studio album which is due out on March 8 through Atomic Fire. Touching, emotional and with a tad of melancholy leading to an epic chorus, "A Monster Only You Can't See" is a song about friendship and never leaving anyone behind and thereby the band's ideal single choice for the current Christmas time.

Stream/purchase the song here, and watch a lyric video below.

Frontman Tony Kakko explains: "How we all may have in our group of friends that one person who seems to be a magnet for all kinds of problems, many of which he/she may not even see himself/herself. Maybe you're that one? You might be an asshole, but you're OUR asshole and we can see through all that, see the real you, and help. And when children arrive to the scene, they all fit under that same umbrella. Don't worry. We'll kick your butt up that hill."

Clear Cold Beyond 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.

Clear Cold Beyond will be available in the following formats:

- CD-digipak
- jewelcase CD (US)
- 2LP vinyl [winter night marbled (white/black) | icy-blue marbled (transparent/blue)]
- digital

Pre-order the album in the physical format of your choice, pre-save it on your favourite DSP or pre-order it digitally to receive "A Monster Only You Can't See" and "First In Line" instantly now, here.

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":

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)