Well, the other day I was listening to some Sonata Arctica songs and reading some lyrics, so it came to my mind that in some way this man is just amazing. For me, he´s one of the best singers (even though he´s said he could use some singing classes), and also is one hell of a writer. The lyrics he´s written are just incredible, specially the ones for the ballads.
So, I just wanted to see what opinions you may have about him, if you agree with me or not, and why. cheers

Totally, one of power metal's most talented writers/singers/everything.

If only he would not make so many grammar mistakes, he would be one of the greatest
No, but seriously, he does have a way to adapt other people's emotions.
+ he is very much like a dear friend I had once. It is a pitty I have not talked much with Kakko.

I agree, he's one of the best singers and I like very much the lyrics, he knows how to show feelings through lyrics and well, the lyrics about life are very interesting too.

I agree with Lioncourt, he does have a lot of grammar mistakes, and still he´s able to write amazing songs. Hopefully he can change that and continue to write even better stuff

Yeah, he does have a lot of grammatical errors but I do enjoy some of the images he conjures up in my mind. His singing is really good for someone who's never had any lessons either. Not my favourite vocalist, but he has unique vocals that stick out and are well geared for Sonata Arctica. Also, he does some keyboard duties as well.

Written by Hyvaarin on 13.08.2006 at 08:12

Totally, one of power metal's most talented writers/singers/everything.

Personally, I think the grammatial errors add to the personalness (that a word?) and intimacy of the lyrics. Tony is totally bitchin;'.

Written by Daru Jericho on 16.08.2006 at 06:16

His singing is really good for someone who's never had any lessons either.

You should hear some of his earlier concerts. In the beginning he had pretty much a terrible voice. This is partly due to the fact that he did not "warm up" his throat before the shows.

He has a very good voice,and yes he does make some grammatical mistakes,but it really doesnt take away from the music at all.However,I do prefer Timo Kotipelto more though.

Maybe he's not the best singer I can find, even if love his voice and how he sings, but the thing I most admire in him is the way he write his songs, because he makes them original, not all the same but with different topics like nature or relationships, and the music is really amazing...

Written by Hyvaarin on 13.08.2006 at 08:12

Totally, one of power metal's most talented writers/singers/everything.

I completely agree, Tony Kakko the responsable of that awesome fenomen Sonata Arctica is one of the best in the Power Metal.

Grammer mistakes even do make it more interesting to read lyrics ..


Tony, if not the best, one of the best 3 vocalists to me ever !!


Shy!! what a song .. aaah!! killer lyric ..

"...I see your beautiful eyes & I would like to run away from reflections of me in your eyes..."

He's certainly not one of my favourite vocalists, although the amount of emotion he puts into his vocals is just amazing. His grammatical errors do not bother me the slightest bit. For a vocalist, songwriter and musician, he is brilliant and some of the ballads that he has written are astounding.

As for the lyrical department, once again, some very good lyrics but not the best in that area. Nevertheless, he's a talented guy, particularly for someone who has never taken any singing lessons.

yes one of the best and totally agree that he writes very good ballads...i hope he is not tired of writing power metal songs cos those songs from the new album are not that good. Hail to Finland!!!

Written by Guest on 12.07.2007 at 07:21

Tony Kakko is indeed a genius yes, but he like the rest of Sonata Arctica he sold out and the lyrics he writes now are pathetic as demonstrated on Unia, whereas on the first 3 albums they are pure beautiful poetry straight from the heart, on Reckoning Night they aren't so good but some like Shamandalie are brilliant. There is no hope for him or the band now though

i agree when you say the lyrics on UNIA are not good, in fact they almost suck! compared to songs like letter to dana, broken, shy, tallulah, etc, they seem as if someone else had written the. but i don't think that he's gone as far as selling out, i don't think 'selling out' can be shown on his lyrics, and i also disagree that this shows no hope for future of the band, that's just rushing conclusions... i guess we'll have to wait for another album and see how it goes

Sometimes grammatical errors make lyrics all the more lovable IMO. Not only in Tony Kakko's case, but with Immortal, some Blind Guardian, a lot of Korpiklaani etc etc. I am a big fan of Tony Kakko's voice and lyrics, despite his somewhat limited grasp of the English language. I mean, some songs are overtly soppy love songs that bring a smile to my face rather than a tear to my eye, but on the whole he's an awesome musician.

He's average and certainly do not deserve his own thread here IMO. Nah, but he isn't bad but there are so much better singers out there.

I haven't listened to Sonata Arctica in a while, but I remember going through periods where I couldn't stop listening to the band. And yes, it was mainly due to the fact some of the ballads had me completely absorbed and thats all thanks to Tony I suppose

The lyrics he writes also seem to be quite personal and depressing, especially when dealing with romantic themes. Anyone know if the guy's had his fair share of heartache?

@omni: well, i dno't know how the guy's love life may have been, but if in fact he hasn't gone through hard times in that subject, then that just shows even more how great a lyric writer he is

Yes, if Sonata Arctica isn't the best band in the world, Tony's voice make it so wonderful to listen...

He's got a good voice's managing, and in liv concerts, he also plays a bit with it, not singing exactly from the albums, but making you listen a different thing you were used to.

He's a great composer, too.

Yes he sings very well for someone who hasn't taken any singing classes. Also the lyrics are quite good, but maybe a bit too romantic for my taste, or cheesy. He has a good voice but I am not too fond of his vocals. Still he is a very good musician.

An incredible voice, though I think he gets a little too raspy when he goes high, but that's nitpicking a great talent. His lyrics I enjoy 90 to 95% of the time which is more than good enough for me. I hope he can continue the high level of success and just keep getting better.

He certainly has an pleasant voice. I really enjoy listening to him, on the Sonata Arctica records. I'm seeing him with Sonata Arctica live, somewhere in November. I'm really looking forward to it.

lol I actually just created a poll for lyricists. And of course kakko is on it. check it out.

whats with all the hate for Unia. At first I didn't like it much. but it grew on me fast. The Vice has become one of my favourite songs. For some reason it makes me think of bohemian rhapsody musically.

Written by Iron Priest on 27.08.2008 at 01:14

lol I actually just created a poll for lyricists. And of course kakko is on it. check it out.

whats with all the hate for Unia. At first I didn't like it much. but it grew on me fast. The Vice has become one of my favourite songs. For some reason it makes me think of bohemian rhapsody musically.

Unia is growing on me for a year but I still don't like it much...

I actually love his studio vocals, but I've heard to many bad recordings of him live.

Written by Warman on 27.08.2008 at 15:00

I actually love his studio vocals, but I've heard to many bad recordings of him live.

I saw him live only once but then his voive was great. And his encores when he asked the audience to make 3 different drum voices and then he started to sing "We will rock you" was fantastic!

Brilliant song writer. Used to think Sonata were nothing special but when you sit and listen to the lyrics they really are different to a lot of bands in the Power Metal genre.

He has a nice voice...
What reminds me of a youtube video of him singing My Heart Will Go On, from Celine Dion..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG8tggKYSg4
That would've been nice if it was recorded in a studio...
As for his songwriting, since he is able to express things in such an amazing way...I simply ignore the grammar errors...