Sonata Artica defines progressive metal

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the chief export of Finland is lumber.

According to people who actually know what they're talking about, it's metal.

The nation that brought us Nightwish, Lordi, and Stratovarius recently sent Sonata Arctica stateside for the first leg of their North American tour, which included the band's first concert in Philadelphia.

Sonata Arctica played to a half-full house last Tuesday night at the Trocadero, despite the show being announced well over six months ago. Those who showed up were treated to a full set by a band that is in the middle of major transitions, but is still going strong and pleasing their fan base.

Once known as a power metal band - a genre that is characterized by speedy, accurate guitar riffs and melodic vocals - Sonata Arctica has shifted to progressive metal with their latest CD release, "Unia." Progressive metal includes much of the same characteristics as power metal with more time signature changes, much like jazz fusion.

Perhaps the biggest change for the band has been the recent loss of Jani Limatainen, the band's prolific and precise lead guitar player. Limatainen left the band in February to fulfill Finland's mandatory year of military service. Since then, he has spent time in jail for avoiding said service.

While one might expect this to major loss to hinder Sonata, they didn't miss a beat. His replacement, Elias Viljanen, proved more than capable. His solos were mind-blowingly fast, and more importantly, tight. He was at his best trading solos with Henrik Klingenberg on the keytar.

Vocalist Tony Kakko is one of two remaining founding members of the band from 1996 (along with drummer Tommy Portimo). More than a decade later, his expressive tenor still remains one of metal's greatest voices. He showed his range from soulful ballads like "Tallulah" to more aggressive songs like "Don't Say a Word."

Unlike many bands promoting a new album, Sonata Arctica put together a nice set, seamlessly shifting between their power and progressive metal albums. The crowd sang along to both with equal fervor, jumping and pumping their fists in unison with each downbeat.

The most exuberant cheers were reserved for "Fullmoon," one of the band's handful of songs about werewolves and the most fanciful of their repertoire. "San Sebastian" was also a crowd favorite, and featured a particularly impressive solo by Limatainen.

The opening act for the evening was local band Chicago Violin, followed by The Tempest. The main support for Sonata Arctica was Firewind, a Greek power metal band that quickly won the crowd over with their adrenaline-fueled set. The crowd was at its loudest when Firewind suggested that they were not as loud as New York. In the wake of the recent Mets collapse, a derisive chant ensued.

In one of the most fun moments of the night, Sonata Arctica left the stage in a mock end of the concert. After about 30 seconds of chants of "one more song!," Kakko returned and informed the audience that they would, in fact, get four more songs. If, that is, they would sing him a song.

"I want you to sing me 'Old McDonald,'" he implored in accented English. "But we will not sing with the cow, or the sheep, or the chicken, or the moonshine distillery. No, we will sing with the duck. The duck who goes 'Quack quack.'"

Surprisingly, the crowd of metal heads emphatically obliged. In a rare turn of events, it was the singer who requested an encore performance, and after a second verse of the children's classic, the crowd had earned their four more songs.