Formation and early years (1996–1999) The band was founded by drummer Tommy Portimo and guitarists
Jani Liimatainen and Marko Paasikoski in Kemi. At the end of 1995, lead vocalist
Tony Kakko was added and bassist Pentti Peura joined in 1996. Originally named Tricky Beans, initially they played
hard rock rather than the power metal with which they became famous. Kakko explained that when he was invited to join the band, Paasikoski said the band was going to play "a mixture of
Megadeth and
Spin Doctors". During their early career, they recorded three
demos which were never sent to a recording label — ''Friend 'til the End
, Agre Pamppers
and PeaceMaker''. According to Kakko, the band's first name was based on one of their early songs, which was "about a lady who was tricky and I didn't really know what I was talking about (laughs)". At that time, Pentti Peura was fired and Marko Paasikoski left due to a lack of gigging. Two months later the band got signed to a three-album deal with
Spinefarm, which left Marko displeased. The band finally changed their name to Sonata Arctica, because they thought they wouldn't be able to sell metal albums with the previous name and also because Spinefarm asked them to do so. "Sonata Arctica" was suggested by a friend of the band: "sonata" for the music and "arctica" for their home (Kemi, in Northern Finland). It was announced on 4 September 2008 that the band's first two albums would be re-released with bonus tracks by Spinefarm UK on October 6.
The Days of Grays was released on September 16, 2009 in Finland and September 22 in the USA. Henrik stated that the new album would be in the same vein as
Unia, but not as complex and darker. The band also toured with
DragonForce for the third U.S. leg of the
Ultra Beatdown. In early 2010 they engaged on an Australian tour with
Ensiferum and Melbourne band
Vanishing Point. In April 2010, Sonata Arctica embarked on their USA and Canada Headlining tour for
The Days of Grays. In October they headlined in Chile in support of the same album.
Stones Grow Her Name (2011–2013) In January 2011, the band hinted in an online interview for
Metaleater magazine that they were writing songs for a new album while on their current tour. Elias is quoted as saying, "I've been working on some new riffs, quite dark. Tony's been stuck in his bed scratching notes about some girl and her 'Luna Lust'." Tommy states later, "We've just got back from Cozumel, we had a good time, had lots of beers, loads more sun and thought about putting a bit more
Queen stuff back into the music again." In April, the band recorded a live DVD in Oulu, Finland, entitled
Live in Finland, which was released on 11 November 2011 (11/11/11). It was announced on 20 February 2012 through the official Sonata Arctica website that the new album entitled
Stones Grow Her Name would be released on 18 May in Europe and 22 May in North America. The Album's first single and video "I Have A Right" was released on April 18, the second single from the album, "Shitload of Money" was released on September 14. The Stones Grow Her Name World Tour began in April with summer festivals until August.
''Pariah's Child, The Ninth Hour and Talviyö'' (2014–2023) In a June 2013 interview concerning Henrik Klingenberg's own band
Silent Voices, Henrik confirmed Sonata Arctica would go into recording for their eighth studio album in September 2013. When pushed for more information, he assured jovially: "If it doesn't come out by next year, we're in big trouble!" Concerning the progress and style of this new album, he also mentioned "The bulk of the album, we already have the demos ..." as well as "we want to focus on making songs that work live." During rehearsals, Henrik mentioned on his blog that songs they were rehearsing for the new album seemed to hearken towards Sonata Arctica's earlier days. He also mentioned their plan to record a 10-minute track for the new album. On 26 August 2013 the band officially announced on their Facebook page that Marko Paasikoski had left the band due to unsolvable issues with being part of a touring ensemble, and was replaced by bassist Pasi Kauppinen. On January 9, 2014, the band officially announced via their official website that the band's next studio album, ''
Pariah's Child'', will be released on March 28, 2014. Tony Kakko commented Tony stated that the band was hoping to record the songs in a manner faithful to the original, not in a manner that would completely change the feel of their original album. On 3 September 2014, Ouergh Records announced a Sonata Arctica tribute album. The album,
A Tribute to Sonata Arctica featured bands from across the globe covering Sonata Arctica songs, with a focus on newer bands that were influenced by Sonata Arctica. Prominent bands included:
Xandria,
Van Canto,
Stream of Passion,
Arven,
Powerglove, and
Timeless Miracle. The album was endorsed by Tony Kakko. The tribute album was released September 12, 2015. In 2014, writer Marko J. Ollila released a biography of the band, titled simply
Sonata Arctica. The book was published by Paasilinna Publishing Ltd. and was originally only in Finnish. An English translation was published on 5 December 2014 as an e-book. The book covered the band's history from its formations up to the 2014 re-record of
Ecliptica. It also included a fictional short-story written by Kakko, which was the singer's debut as a writer of material other than lyrics. On 18 December 2015, Sonata Arctica released a Christmas-themed single,
Christmas Spirits. In February 2016, the band announced their plans to start recording a new album and release it in the final quarter of 2016. In July 2016, they announced on their Facebook page that the yet-to-be-titled album was mixed. On July 21, they officially announced the album's title, album artwork, and release date on their Facebook page. Their ninth studio album,
The Ninth Hour, was released on October 7, 2016. The artwork featured a future Utopian landscape with technology and nature in the balance. In November 2018, the band revealed that they were working on a new album, which its production had finished in 2019. On 21 June 2019 they released a lyric video for "A Little Less Understanding" and revealed the name of the tenth studio album
Talviyö which was released via Nuclear Blast on 6 September 2019.
Clear Cold Beyond (2023–present) The band released "First in Line", the first single from their eleventh studio album
Clear Cold Beyond on 13 October 2023; the album was released on 8 March 2024. ==Musical style and influences==