Kev Rowland Finnish band Insomnium are often described as melodic death metal, yet they also bring in atmospheric elements of black metal and so many other elements on this album that I would not be surprised to see them categorised prog metal as well. Released in 2014, here is a band who have had huge stability in line-up with Niilo Sevänen (bass, vocals), Ville Friman (guitars, clean vocals) both founders, drummer Markus Hirvonen joining not long afterwards in 1997, and guitarist Markus Vanhala joining in 2011. In fact, the only change in their line-up since this album is the addition of Jani Liimatainen in 2019, so still incredibly consistent, and since this was released there have been another three albums, of which one was 2019’s ‘Heart Like A Grave’ which I rated very highly indeed.

Long-time guest Aleksi Munter provides keyboards on this album, while backing singer and producer Teemu Aalto made his first appearance with the band (also appearing on the next two releases), together providing additional cleanliness and polish. The result is something which can be brutally heavy, yet there may also be acoustic guitars, the keyboards provide a backdrop and while there are times when we are full-on death it is always wonderfully melodic. The contrast between the brutality and the polish is what makes this such a dynamic release, full of dark and light so one never knows where it is going to lead. They walk a tight line between having too much of one or the other, ensuring the two sides bounce off each other, and at times there is a brooding melancholy with a cold atmosphere permeating the overall sound. Anyone seeing the term “death metal” may be surprised at just how commercial and melodic this album is, and there is much in here for those who may not normally investigate music from that genre. I have previously compared them to Borknagar, and I hear that in this release as well, which is still a delight nearly ten years on from its release.

siLLy puPPy It didn’t really take much time at all for the early death metal scene to splinter off in myriad directions with some bands going the technical route and others adopting the melodic guitar riffs and solos of traditional heavy metal. The melodeath scene was pioneered primarily by Swedish bands like Dark Tranquility, In Flames and At The Gates which all formed in the city of Göteburg (Gothenburg) therefore the entire 90s was pretty much about Sweden’s Gothenburg scene as far as melodeath was concerned. Of course it didn’t take long for non-Swedish bands to adopt the style as their own including Britain’s Carcass after abandoning grindcore influences and on that list is the Finnish band INSOMNIUM that formed in Jeonsuu in 1997.

As far as full-length albums are concerned INSOMNIUM didn’t get its start until the 2002 debut IN THE HALLS OF AWAITING which was released a good decade after the whole melodeath thing had taken off but in that time bands like Edge of Sanity, Amorphous, Amon Amarth and the aforementioned bands kept the style running neck in neck with the other offshoots of the world of death metal. As far as direct influences are concerned for INSOMNIUM, it seems that this band’s biggest included In Flames and albums like “Whoracle” or “The Jester Race” as well as Dark Tranquility and early Amorphous with heavy chunky death metal riffing accompanied by melodic hooks culled from Scandinavian folk flavors.

IN THE HALLS OF AWAITING sounds like the typical melodeath of the day with the intensity of death metal including percussive blastbeats and growling guttural vocal angst. Also included are lots of clean guitar arpeggiated moments that allow the melodic influences to lead the way but the band even at this stage was really adept at crafting an album’s worth of material that took in the zeitgeist of the 90s scene which is really the problem with this debut. It was a few years late to the party for simple straight-forward melodeath and even though the band would up its game and remain relevant for the next couple of decades, at this point INSOMNIUM was a competent but just run of the mill melodeath metal band.

It’s amazing that this band has kept three constant members throughout its entire run of albums beginning with this one. Nillo Sevänen (bass, harsh vocals), Ville Friman (guitar, clean vocals) and Markus Hirvonen have remained a trio for all those years with only the fourth member changing guard. While IN THE HALLS OF AWAITING is by no means a bad example of melodeath it doesn’t grasp the complexities of what the band would prove itself capable of and therefore this debut is often regarded as the band’s weakest album. While that may be true, it’s still a decent album if you happen to be craving no nonsense melodeath without too much fuss and bother.

Personally i prefer the more sophisticated albums that follow so this one doesn’t register on my radar but it’s certainly a competent beginning for a band that managed to break free from its generic origins into something unique and innovative. At 55 1/2 minutes this album is also too long as it gets a little samey after several tracks however at the end are the best including “The Bitter End” and the lengthy 11-minute closer title track which really allows the melodic aspects to develop with nice piano rolls and extended dynamics. The nature of this debut certainly brings the band’s epic and sombre style to light but would require a couple more years of practice to really nail their own distinct sound.

Kev Rowland Formed as long ago as 1997, since 2011 the band has had a consistent line-up of Markus Hirvonen, Ville Friman, Niilo Sevänen and Markus Vanhala, during which time they released ‘Shadows of the Dying Sun’ and the very highly rated ‘Winter’s Gate’. However, (2016) which elevated the band to the headliner status all over the globe. However, guitarist Ville Friman, who is one of the three founder members still with the band, was finding it more difficult to commit to heavy touring schedules due to his day job of being a lecturer at York University. So to ensure there is no problem with meeting whatever commitments they have, they decided to become a quintet by bringing in Jani Liimatainen (The Dark Element, Cain’s Offering, ex-Sonata Arctica) who had already been a live guitarist on several tours.

Having three guitarists in the studio has not really made a huge difference to the overall sound apart from extending the writing ability by now having four composers. This, their eighth album contains all the elements one has come to expect from Insomnium, and while they are still within the melodic death spectrum there are times when they actually move away from the death scene and become far more of a melodic metal act. There is always a huge feeling of atmosphere within their music, something normally far more associated with black metal acts, and with a real feel of melancholy while they have drawn inspiration from some of the bleakest tales, lyrics and poems of the north to get again produce something which is full of power and passion. They are not afraid to drop an acoustic guitar into the middle of a song, stop everything dead and then return in a different time signature and mood while switching between death and clean vocals. Passionate and immediate, this dark album also has plenty of soaring light which at times has more than a nod to the likes of Borknagar. Must be something in the beer up North.

Nightfly How do you follow an album like Winter’s Gate? Insomnium’s masterpiece in my opinion – one continuous forty minute long piece of music, unless you bought the vinyl version then of course it was split in two. Unless you’re a prog band, not with an album of the same format.

Heart Like A Grave see’s the band returning to the shorter song structure of previous albums though some of them are quite long, Pale Morning Star almost hitting nine minutes for example. The sound is unmistakably Insomnium though they’ve gone and done an Iron Maiden and brought in a third guitarist, Jani Liimatainen. He hasn’t made any noticeable difference to their studio sound but I can imagine how live he could be a benefit for the layered guitar sounds, something he has already been doing for some time I believe. Heart Like A Grave delivers exactly what you’d expect from Insomnium. First rate melodic death metal with powerful melodic riffs overlaid by lead runs and interspersed with acoustic lulls and atmospheric sections. The vocals are largely growled of course courtesy of bassist Niilo Sevänen as usual but clean vocals are occasionally brought in which work well and should be used more often. Insomnium have always released strong albums so while Heart Like a Grave is up against some pretty stiff competition they’ve done well to equal and sometimes better their past work here. The band is obviously very comfortable in their style and sound and it shows through a strong sympathetic production. Best of all they maintain the quality level for the whole album.

Once again Insomnium have produced a winner. This is not going to turn heads the way Winter’s Gate did but musically it’s just as good and any fan of the band will not be disappointed. In fact those who felt the single piece of music format of the last album didn’t work will probably prefer the return to individual songs.

UMUR "Winter's Gate" is the 7th full-length studio album by Finnish melodic death metal act Insomnium. The album was released through Century Media Records in September 2016. It´s the successor to "Shadows of the Dying Sun" from 2014 and features the same lineup as the predecessor. After releasing quite a few albums where the overall concept and songwriting formula have had a somewhat similar sound and structure, Insomnium have opted for a change on "Winter's Gate". The band were having a break while rehearsing and were listening to some music and someone put on "Crimson (1996)" by Edge of Sanity, which inspired the band to write a single 40 minutes long track, which ended up being "Winter's Gate".

While "Winter's Gate" is divided into seven different parts and there are clear song structures featured in the long epic track, it still feels very much like one long listening experience and the various parts of the album also seque into each other, which gives the track the right natural flow. Stylistically the track is less surprising than the structure and length of the track, as it´s in many ways Insomnium as we know them. That means melodic death metal with elements of ethnic Scandinavian folk, black- and progressive metal, which is packed in a majestic atmosphere. Artists like Omnium Gatherum and Amorphis are valid references. Guitarist Markus Vanhala has played in both Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum since 2011, so that further strengthens the connection between those two acts.

The music is quite dynamic and varies from mellow acoustic guitar sections or keyboard interludes, to heavy melodic death metal parts and faster paced more aggressive blackened death metal parts. Always with a lot of focus on melody and catchiness. Atmosphere enhancing keyboards play a relatively big role in the soundscape along with guitars, bass, drums, and vocals. The vocals are deep intelligible growling, higher pitched blackened growling, and clean vocals (often layered with harmony vocals and choirs).

"Winter's Gate" is a very well written track, and the transitions between sections generally work really well. Add to that high level musicianship, and a clear, professional, and powerful sounding production, and you got a high quality release on your hands. The fact that Insomnium have chosen to step a bit out of their comfort zone and try something different means extra points in my book, and a 4.5 star (90%) rating is deserved.