Sonata Arctica - Reckoning Night (2004)

Sonata Arctica have always managed to bring out some good music, but inconsistent albums overall, and that's kind of the same here with this, their fourth release.
After the pretty good opener "Misplaced", there are such gems as "Ain't Your Fairytale", "Don't Say A Word" and the glorious "My Selene", but other tracks like "Blinded No More" and "The Boy Who Wanted To Become A Real Puppet" work less well. But the almost nine-minute opus "White Pearl, Black Oceans" managed to combine complexity and pop hooks with success, showing that these Fins know how to do it right when they put their minds to it.

***1/2