For The Sake of Heaviness

“Acoustic Adventures” Volume One by Sonata Arctica is a sprawling and beautiful compilation of tunes from throughout the bands’ career performed in a series of stripped-back renditions. It takes the bands’ signature sound and extracts the heaviness to render the songs in a breathtaking new light…

Apparently a staple in Russia, the music of Taneyev exists on the fringes of the repertoire in the West, something that should be rectified–and will be if this superb CD made by a starry cast of performers gets the attention it deserves. He’s a Romantic composer, but hardly of the heart-on-sleeve variety, since he was a master of counterpoint and firmly encased his Romantic impulses in a well-fitted classical jacket. Sometimes he makes you think of a more modern, pungent Brahms with a Russian accent.