Winterheart's Guild
Winterheart's Guild is the third studio album by the power metal band Sonata Arctica. It was released in 2003 through Spinefarm Records. In a 2014 interview, vocalist, keyboardist and songwriter Tony Kakko said inspiration for writing "The Ruins of My Life" came from the film Braveheart. In 2019, he would refer to the album's recording process as a "nightmare" because he only had "two or three" songs ready when the band went in the studio.
Reception
Loudwire named the album at eleventh in their list "Top 25 Power Metal Albums of All Time." Metal Hammer also included it in their 2016 list of 10 essential power metal albums.Track listing
All songs written by Tony KakkoPersonnel
- Tony Kakko – vocals, keyboards
- Jani Liimatainen – guitar
- Marko Paasikoski – bass guitar
- Tommy Portimo – drums
- Jens Johansson – keyboard solos on "The Cage", "Silver Tongue", "Victoria's Secret" and "Champagne Bath"
- Recorded by Ahti Kortelainen at Tico Tico Studios in September–November 2002
- Mixed by Mikko Karmila at Finnvox Studios and mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios in November–December 2002.
- Produced by Sonata Arctica