Sonata Arctica is a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, Finland. Created as a hard rock band named Tricky Beans, they later changed to Tricky Means and finally to Sonata Arctica, when they shifted to power metal.
The current lineup consists of drummer Tommy Portimo, lead singer Tony Kakko, keyboardist Henrik Klingenberg, guitarist Elias Viljanen and bassist Pasi Kauppinen. All the musicians of the band's history except Portimo also acted as backing vocalists.
Also Known As: Tricky Beans (1995-1997), Tricky Means (1997-1999)
Members:
Tommy Portimo - drums (1995-present)
Tony Kakko - lead vocals (1996-present), keyboards (1996-2000, 2003, studio only: 2007-present)
Henrik Klingenberg - keyboards, keytar, backing vocals (2003-present)
Elias Viljanen - guitars, backing vocals (2007-present)
Pasi Kauppinen - bass, backing vocals (2013-present)
Former members:
Jani Liimatainen - guitars, backing vocals 1995-2007), lead vocals, keyboards (1995-1996)
Marko Paasikoski - bass (1995-1996, 2000-2013), guitars (1996-1997), backing vocals (1995-1997, 2000-2013)
Pentti Peura - bass, backing vocals (1996-1998)
Janne Kivilahti - bass, backing vocals (1998-2000)
Mikko Härkin - keyboards, backing vocals (2000-2002)
Name Origin:
They 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).
From: Kemi, Finland
Genre(s):
Power metal,
symphonic metal,
progressive metal
Active From: 1995-present