Stones Grow Her Name
| Stones Grow Her Name | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Sonata Arctica | ||||
| Released |
May 16, 2012 (Finland) May 18, 2012 (Europe) May 22, 2012 (North America) May 23, 2012 (Japan) | |||
| Recorded |
November 2011 at Studio 57, Alaveteli, Finland (bass, drums, hammond) January and February 2012 at Kakkoslaatu Studios (lead and backing vocals, additional keyboards) January and February 2012 at Sonic Pump Studios (trumpets, saxophones, acoustic guitars, viola caipira, banjos, violin, double bass, additional backing vocals, violin) January 2012 at Tico Tico Studio, Kemi, Finland (double bass)[1] | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal, power metal, progressive metal, symphonic metal | |||
| Length | 53:16 | |||
| Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
| Producer | Sonata Arctica | |||
| Sonata Arctica chronology | ||||
| ||||
Stones Grow Her Name is the 7th full-length studio album by Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica. It was released in Finland on May 16, 2012, in Europe on May 18, 2012, in North America on May 22, 2012 and in Japan on May 23, 2012.[2][3] It was the last album to feature longtime bassist Marko Paasikoski.
Regarding the song "Cinderblox", vocalist Tony Kakko stated:[4]
"As you might figure, it started out as a... joke. Me fooling around with this banjo sound I came across. Wrote a riff which turned into a song. And when we then decided it's gonna be recorded for this album all we had to do was to find someone to play the banjo. We did! [...] This is the one song that still makes me smile every time I hear it."
Track list
All tracks written by Tony Kakko.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Only the Broken Hearts (Make You Beautiful)" | 3:23 |
| 2. | "Shitload of Money" | 4:52 |
| 3. | "Losing My Insanity" (Song written by Tony Kakko which was originally featured on Ari Koivunen's Fuel for the Fire) | 4:03 |
| 4. | "Somewhere Close to You" | 4:13 |
| 5. | "I Have a Right" | 4:47 |
| 6. | "Alone in Heaven" | 4:31 |
| 7. | "The Day" | 4:14 |
| 8. | "Cinderblox" | 4:03 |
| 9. | "Don't Be Mean" | 3:17 |
| 10. | "Wildfire, Part: II - One With the Mountain" | 7:53 |
| 11. | "Wildfire, Part: III - Wildfire Town, Population: 0" | 8:00 |
| Total length: | 53:16 | |
| European and North American Bonus Track[5] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Track listing | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
| 12. | "Tonight I Dance Alone" | 3:27 |
| Japanese Bonus Track[6] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Track listing | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
| 12. | "One-Two-Free-Fall" | 3:49 |
Tour Edition
On October 24, 2012 a special 2 disc "Tour Edition" of the album was released in Japan to commemorate the band's appearance at the Loud Park Festival. The first disc contains the standard Japanese version of the album with "One-Two- Free-Fall" serving as the bonus track. The second disc features acoustic versions of "Only the Broken Hearts (Make You Beautiful)" "I Have a Right" "Alone In Heaven" and "Somewhere Close to You" respectively.[7]
Personnel
- Tony Kakko – vocals, additional keyboards
- Elias Viljanen – guitar
- Marko Paasikoski – bass guitar
- Henrik Klingenberg – keyboards
- Tommy Portimo – drums
Guest artists[1]
- Mika Mylläri - trumpet on "Shitload of Money"
- Sakari Kukko - saxophone on "Shitload of Money"
- Peter Engberg - acoustic guitar, viola caipira and banjo on "I Have a Right", "Alone in Heaven", "The Day", "Don't Be Mean", "Cinderblox" and "Wildfire, Part:II - One with the Mountain"
- Timo Kotipelto - additional backing vocals on "Only the Broken Hearts (Make You Beautiful)", "Shitload of Money", "I Have a Right" and "Alone in Heaven"
- Lauri Valkonen - double bass at "Cinderblox" and "Wildfire, Part:II - One with the Mountain"
- Pekka Kuusisto - violin at "Don't Be Mean", "Cinderblox", "Wildfire, Part:II - One with the Mountain" and "Wildfire, Part:III - Wildfire Town, Population: 0"
- Anna Lavender - spoken parts on "I Have a Right"
- Mikko P. Mustonen - Orchestration on "Wildfire, Part:III - Wildfire Town, Population: 0"
Additional personnel[1]
- Masi Hukari - recording assistant and lyrics proofreader
- Nino Laurenne - producer
- Ahti Kortelainen - studio master technician
- Mikko Karmila - mixing
- Pelri Ahvenainen - recording engineer
- Ville - monitor technician
- Svante Forsbäck - mastering engineer
Charts
| Chart (2012) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums Chart | 79[8] |
| Hungarian Albums Chart | 13[9] |
On June 1, 2012 the following chart positions for the album were announced on the Sonata Arctica website.
Finland 1
Hungary 13
Switzerland 21
Germany 24
Austria 29
Sweden 37
Norway 39
France 54
Italy 72
Netherlands 72
Canada 79
Belgium 79
Spain 97
Sweden Rock Charts 5
Canada Rock Charts 7
United Kingdom Rock Charts 9
United States Billboard Heatseekers Chart 9
The following message from Tony Kakko regarding sales of the album in North America was posted as well "North America! Awesome! Our best ever 1st week sales with Stones Grow Her Name! Thank you so much! Feels good to hear this kind of news from the other side of the great puddle. Especially now, when the times are what they are... You guys rock! Sure hope to get all the tour plans ready as soon as possible, so we can announce out next great North American adventure. See you guys hopefully soon! Miss ya! Cheers!"[10]
References
- 1 2 3 "Sonata Arctica: Making Of 'Stones Grow Her Name' Part 2 (Video)". Blabbermouth.net. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
- ↑ "SONATA ARCTICA - "Stones Grow Her Name" album details released!". NuclearBlast.de. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
- ↑ "Sonata Arctica Unveil Details and Album Art from "Stones Grow Her Name"". SMNNews.com. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- ↑ Wojtek, Gabriel (May 2012). "Sonata Arctica interview with Tony Kakko". Noizz Eater. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
- ↑ "SONATA ARCTICA Stones grow her name". NuclearBlast.de. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
- ↑ "Stones Grow Her Name Japan Release". Marquee.co.jp. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
- ↑ http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=MICP-20003
- ↑ http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/ALBUMS.html
- ↑ "MAHASZ – Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége". mahasz.hu. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
- ↑ http://www.sonataarctica.info/site07/index.php?s=1&l=uk&nid=212&n_xID=212&ntop=0