BAND: INSOMNIUM (FINLAND) GENRE: MELODIC DEATH METAL LABEL: CANDLELIGHT RECORDS RELEASE DATE: 9/7/09
PREVIOUS RELEASES (CATALOG) : ABOVE THE WEEPING WORLD (2006-CANDLELIGHT RECORDS), SINCE THE DAY IT ALL CAME DOWN (2004-CANDLELIGHT RECORDS), IN THE HALLS OF AWAITING (2002-CANDLELIGHT RECORDS), UNDERNEATH THE MOONLIT WAVES (2000-DEMO), DEMO (1999)
BEST RELEASE: ABOVE THE WEEPING WORLD (2006)
TRACKLISTING : INSOMNIUM: ACROSS THE DARK: 01. Equivalence (03:18)
02. Down With The Sun (04:22)
03. Where The Last Wave Broke (05:03)
04. The Harrowing Years (06:39)
05. Against The Stream (06:11)
06. Lay Of The Autumn (09:08)
07. Into The Woods (05:08)
08. Weighted Down With Sorrow (05:51)
ITP RATING: *** 1/2
PRODUCTION: ****
SONGWRITING: ****
PERFORMANCE: *** 1/2Alot has been said about the sub genre of "Melodic death metal or melodeath" popularized in Scandinavia specifically in Gothenburgh, SWEDEN.. Melodic death metal has been degraded by extreme metal purists (the brootal kind) as pop metal with a cold, hard rock akin to metal core, nu metal or melodic thrash.. However, some bands inject originality, quality musicianship, good songwriting and some damn shred into the sub genre. OPETH are original, talented and progressive. Both ARSIS and ARCH ENEMY shred as the former with the Amott brothers (one formerly of CARCASS) write good solos. KALMAH, FINNTROLL, SWALLOW THE SUN, DARK TRANQUILITY, AGALLOCH and KATATONIA all add elements of progressive, death, black, or/ and folk metal to form an original musical identity. Hell, when you listen to those pagan metal bands, most are melodic thrash, adding many other culturally significant folk elements including flutes, keyboards and acoustic melodies. So in essence, "melodeath" has come a long way, and if the "metal" market is over saturated with such, blame the American metal core bands for ripping off AT THE GATES, CARCASS, IN FLAMES ect, lol. INSOMINIUM are yet another melodic death metal band from FINLAND with an affinity for tasty songwriting, hooks and KATATONIA influenced atmospherics perhaps being a quality successor to THE JESTER RACE era IN FLAMES. A friend of mine digs the INSOMNIUM tune "Down With The Sun" from the bands latest release and suggested I review "Across The Dark". Wish granted. In a comfortable position, INSOMNIUM are switching things up with the controversial idea of adding clean vocals. No worries, INSOMNIUM's clean vocals are NOT disproportionate to death vox, as perhaps INSOMNIUM fans are afraid that the band will pull a new millennium AMORPHIS. INSOMNIUM's "Across The Dark" kicks off with the track entitled "Equivalence" with it's lightly picked, clean, melodic intro, the song ups the ante at 1:50 seconds to a louder dynamic, complete with atmospheric keyboards and death vox. "Down With The Sun" segues perfectly from "Equivalence" as this song is exquisite indeed."Down With The Sun" invokes a melodramatic clean picked intro into an awesome, sing along chorus. Awesome, anthem and quality hard rock songwriting as the song ends where it started. "Down With The Sun" may indeed be one of the best hard rock songs of 2009, or at least very underrated. "Where The Last Wave Broke" invokes a slightly faster pace of hard, melodic, metallic bliss as the death vox segue into awkward clean vocals,( those kind of clean vocals ya hear in metal core this days) kinda of cheesy..I prefer NILLO SEVANAN's screamed to clean vocals, although the death to clean vocal transitions are well produced, SEVANANS death vox are far more emotive and effective. At 3:18, "Where The Last Wave Broke" invokes a melodic/pop keyboard/guitar effect, it's ok, but nothing earth shattering. "The Harrowing Years " kicks off with a melo/death/folk atmosphere at a slower pace with good death vox and some better sung clean vocals transitions. "The Harrowing Years" invokes a great atmospheric flow with a segue of dramatic keyboards towards the tunes ending. "Against The Stream" invokes a heavier feel with twisted opening riff, blastbeats and intense heaviness with death vox and heavy/slow transitions for a good hard rocker. At 3:06 "Against The Stream" emote a slow instrumental atmosphere, into a mid paced dynamic with good death vox, ending with a slow, mournful piano piece. "Lay Of The Autumn" is INSOMNIUM's longest track on "Across The Dark" (9:08) emoting a mellow, semi-acoustic, melancholy feel with hard/folk rock dynamics, similar in parts to OPETH's "Harvest", but heavier. At 1:51 "Lay Of The Autumn" takes a left turn on an acoustic transition with good clean vocals, and solos into a heavier, and dramatic realm. At 5:37, "Lay Of The Autumn" takes another left turn into a lightly picked acoustic transition into the heavy underworld of awesomeness, with some good solos as well.. Awesome tune, as "Lay Of The Autumn" is by far and away an INSOMNIUM epic and most progressive/doom tune on "Across The Dark". "Into The Woods" emotes as a driving opening riff and heavy/mid pace dynamics invoking some quality atmospheric, melodic death metal. Dramatic, beautiful, atmospheric , and well written.. INSOMNIUMs "Across The Dark" closes with the track "Weighted Down With Sorrow", segueing perfectly from the previous track with beautiful violins invoking an orchestral feel, into a mid paced, atmospheric, beautiful, melodic doom epic.. :weeps: INSOMNIUM's "Across The Dark" suffered what we at ITP would call the "the mid CD lapse", a sort of lag, mid way through the release. The heavier INSOMNIUM are, the more awkward and generic the band feel. However, the last three tracks featured on INSOMNUIM's "Across The Dark" invoke an unexpected melodic/death doom atmosphere for a few epics that shall not be over looked for the obvious underrated hard rock song of 2009, "Down With The Sun". I can only tolerate NILLO SEVANAN's clean vox in small dosages, as this vocal experiment should be minimal as his death vocals emote so much more passion.. Perhaps INSOMNIUM aren't as talented, or original as their Finnish musical peers. While there is nothing musically groundbreaking on INSOMNIUM's "Across The Dark", the band are simply good at what they do as INSOMNIUM's songwriting is convincing enough to keep metal fans interested, and when this band is on the the top of their game, they may write some quality melodic/death doom. ..Some people like melodic metal, and there are some good tunes in that sub genre. INSOMNIUM's "Down With The Sun" may be the sleeper hard rock song of 2009.
ITP RATING: *** 1/2
PRODUCTION: ****
SONGWRITING: ****
PERFORMANCE: *** 1/2 Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-
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