Arctic Orch Metal

When the Tricky Beans formed in 1996, the Finnish outfit was as far from heavy metal as the Spin Doctors. That’s no simple analogy – the Beans covered Spin Doctors songs. But the band also covered Megadeth and by 1999 had embraced a heavier sound, as well as a new name – Sonata Arctica. This isn’t straight-upmetal, mind you. Far from the grinding guitar sounds of Norwegian metal, Sonata Arctica is heavily influenced by prog bands like Europe (as well as arena metal acts like the Scorpions). That means guitars and keyboards -- and plenty of soaring falsetto pipework courtesy of vocalist Tony Kakko. Sonata Arctica, while not a big in the States as prog-metal mavens Dream Theater, is (like many of its peers) big in Europe. Though it took a while, the band’s debut album, Silence, eventually reached gold status overseas. We’ll attribute that to those super-short Scandinavian days. The iceberg floats in Sunday to Culture Room (3045 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale). The show starts at 7:30 p.m. with openers Aghora. Tickets cost $18. Call 954-564-1074, or visit www.cultureroom.net.
Sun., Feb. 19