When Sonata Arctica needed a new keyboardist in 2002, the band received applications from some of the best-known players in all of its native Finland.

Since the guys were already aware of each applicant's skills, they decided to deploy a less conventional method of auditioning.

Each Sonata hopeful was dragged one-by-one to the bar to spend a night partying with the band, the idea being that the chosen one should get along mentally as well as musically with the existing band members.

Henrik Klingenberg came out on top and it looks like the band's unusual method has proven to be a success.

"We just went out and got wasted," Klingenberg recalls of his 'audition.' "I don't really remember that much of that night. So we had a good time, obviously."

Sonata Arctica is bringing its melodic metal stylings to the Starlite Room Sunday night with Carolina's Sanctity warming up the stage.

For a band whose music is so skillfully crafted and tightly executed, one wouldn't think drinking plays too big of a role in its road life. Besides, when you're touring all over the world, with all the jetlag pitted against rocking out night after night, how often can you really stand to party?

"Every day," Klingenberg says. "I'm hungover, so I'm probably going to try and take a nap before the show."

Sonata Arctica is making its current trip to North America in support of its latest album Unia (Finnish for "Dreams"), a mid-tempo disc showcasing complex musicianship and sweet, often melancholy melodies.

At home, this sound has brought the band huge success. Sonata Arctica has scored three No. 1 singles and once made Finnish music history with two releases reaching the top five simultaneously.

The band has performed at the Emma awards, which is the Finnish equivalent of the Grammys, and its live DVD For the Sake of Revenge made the top 10 in all DVD sales across Finland.

Here in North America, with a market that's much less metal-friendly, it's a bit of a different story. But Klingenberg doesn't mind.

"It's sort of like starting all over again," he says. "It's kind of nostalgic at times, playing small places and stuff like that. It's kind of nice to have the change."

In a bizarre turnaround, Sonata Arctica actually started out as a pop band called Tricky Beans in 1996. The band made the transformation to metal after about a year, going as Tricky Means for a short while before completing its metal makeover with its current name.

Although Klingenberg was not a part of the band in its early years, his musical path has also followed a series of very far-from-metal twists and turns while trying to figure out his true musical love.

Klingenberg began playing piano at age five and was initially trained in pop, jazz and classical music.

He eventually settled on the dark side. When he's not busy with Sonata Arctica he plays keys in a prog metal band and sings in a thrash metal band. His decision seems to have served him quite well thus far and he hopes it will continue take him and his Sonata mates on an upward course.

"We want to see how far we can get with this.

We want to be as big as possible," he says.