Sonata Arctica "Winterheart's Guild (Japan, Avalon, MICP-10351)"

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.

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 Kakko

1. "Abandoned, Pleased, Brainwashed, Exploited" 5:36
2. "Gravenimage" 7:00
3. "The Cage" 4:36
4. "Silver Tongue" 3:58
5. "The Misery" 5:08
6. "Victoria's Secret" 4:43
7. "Champagne Bath" 3:57
8. "Broken" 5:18
9. "The Rest of the Sun Belongs to Me" (Japanese edition bonus track) 4:22
10. "The Ruins of My Life" 5:14
11. "Draw Me" (In the Japanese edition, the silence after 5:05 between studio outtakes are removed.) 9:27

Total length: 54:57

Recording information:

Produced by Sonata Arctica.

Recorded at Tico Tico Studio, Kemi, Finland between September-November 2002.

Mixed and mastered at Finnvox Studios, Helsinki, Finland between November-December 2002.