Finnish melodic power metal group Sonata Arctica celebrates a decade of existence with the release of their 'best of' record simply titled as "The Collection". In case you're new to the band, they're well-known for rather speedy compositions bordering neo-classical and melodic power metal. One of their most apparent influences are Royal Hunt, though Sonata Arctica's blend of genres retains their music as fairly distinguishable in its own right.

This release has most to offer for new fans of the band, but unfortunately there isn't much for the older listeners. Only the two remakes of old "classics" from their Ecliptica album, namely "My Land" and "Replica", along with Tony Kakko's comments about each song have been included to woo the old fans. Also the song selection could have been better - at least I would have ranked some songs that were left out higher than few included ones.

Production-wise this record is pretty good with certain exceptions kept in mind. For example, the biggest complaint regarding the production goes to drum sounds, which are in my view a bit thin sounding. In addition, the overall sound of the record is a bit too scooped. Regardless, as a whole "The Collection" has been realized fairly well, and it's a good way to dig into the music of Sonata Arctica.

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- MAGE (November 11th, 2006)

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LINE-UP:
Kakko, Tony: Vocals Liimatainen, Jani: Guitars Klingenberg, Henrik: Keyboards Paasikoski, Marko: Bass Portimo, Tommy: Drums and Kivilahti, Janne: Bass Härkin, Mikko: Keyboards
Producer:	Unavailable
Mixing by:	Unavailable
Mastering by:	Unavailable

	TRACKLIST:
	01. The Ruins of My Life 02. 8th Commandment 03. Don't Say a Word 04. Victoria's Secret 05. Tallulah 06. Wolf & Raven 07. Black Sheep 08. Broken 09. Kingdom for a Heart 10. FullMoon 11. My Land (2006) 12. The Cage 13. Last Drop Falls 14. UnOpened 15. San Sebastian (Revisited) 16. Ain't Your Fairytale 17. Replica (2006) Length: 78:41