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Death Metal Insomnium

Mr. Gregory

Mr. Gregory

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#1
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Mar 28, 2018
Messages
521
Location
New Jersey
#1
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Official Website

Current members:
  • Niilo Sevänen (vocals, bass)
  • Ville Friman (guitar, vocals)
  • Markus Vanhala (guitar)
  • Markus Hirvonen (drums)
Albums:
Insomnium is a Finnish melodic death metal band and is one of the first metal bands I got into. They combine Gothenburg-style riffs with mostly harsh, growled vocals, although they sneak some cleans in once in a while too. Their lyrics tend to be poetic and sad, although they've gotten a bit more positive/uplifting over the last few albums. When I first started listening to this band, it was difficult for me to understand what Niilo was saying. At first I thought it was just because he was growling, but then I realized that it was actually because of his thick accent. I love his intense vocals, and the instrumentation is easily some of the best you'll hear in this subgenre. I particularly love their intro tracks.

I have everything but their very first album. I think they've generally gotten better with age, as is to be expected, but you can't really go wrong with any of their albums IMO. They're all very, very good.

I started with Across the Dark. Here are the first two tracks from that album:


Here are the first two tracks from Shadows of the Dying Sun:


And here's the opener from Winter's Gate, a concept album consisting of one 40 minute song broken up into seven parts:

 
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Magic

Magic

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#2
I actually like this band. I haven't listened to a full album yet, but have skipped through them while posting the albums in the portfolio. Very good music. I love a lot of the song openings......

As far as the growls go....well.......they could have toned that down a bit sound wise. The growls are so harsh, it does make it very difficult to understand the lyrics and hear the music in the background. (that's my first opinion...and what do I know....lol)

The album I listened to the most tracks from, Above The Weeping World, is very good! I am going to sit down tomorrow and listen to this one in it's entirety.
 
Mr. Gregory

Mr. Gregory

Senior Member
#3
Joined
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Messages
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Location
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#3
Magic said:
I actually like this band. I haven't listened to a full album yet, but have skipped through them while posting the albums in the portfolio. Very good music. I love a lot of the song openings......

As far as the growls go....well.......they could have toned that down a bit sound wise. The growls are so harsh, it does make it very difficult to understand the lyrics and hear the music in the background. (that's my first opinion...and what do I know....lol)

The album I listened to the most tracks from, Above The Weeping World, is very good! I am going to sit down tomorrow and listen to this one in it's entirety.
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Yep, Niilo's vocals are so unabashedly, unflinchingly intense. I love 'em. I figured you would dislike this band for that reason alone...ha ha.

Equivalence really hit me hard when I first heard it. That song (and Down With the Sun) just perfectly express how I was feeling right after my dad died, which is when I got into these guys. Those two songs are just so bleak and dark. Friggin' awesome.

I listened to Across the Dark last night for the first time in a while. Above the Weeping World will be next.
 
Riff_Raff

Riff_Raff

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#5
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Messages
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#5
I to put it in wrestling terms frequently pop when bands like Insomnium have a new album out. Such a unique brand of Melodeath and they consistently put out memorable albums. October is going to smash my wallet. Lol
The new song Valediction was awesome. The growls can be off putting if you're not used to them but I feel they add atmosphere to this style.
 
Mr. Gregory

Mr. Gregory

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#7
Heart Like A Grave is a pretty darn good album. Pale Morning Star is easily one of my favorite tracks from it, if not my favorite. Just listen to the blast beat drumming and tremolo picked guitars at the beginning and feel the melancholy. Embrace it. Become one with it. :cry:

 
Magic

Magic

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Mr. Gregory said:
Heart Like A Grave is a pretty darn good album. Pale Morning Star is easily one of my favorite tracks from it, if not my favorite. Just listen to the blast beat drumming and tremolo picked guitars at the beginning and feel the melancholy. Embrace it. Become one with it. :cry:

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I agree 100%. This is the first Insomnium album I have listened to from beginning to end.....and I like it very much. I like the sense of despondency you get listening to the album. I also plucked out "Pale Morning Star" as an epic masterpiece from Heart Like a Grave. The entire song isn't really that melancholy, IMHO. It does build to some intense speed and power, however, the lyrics are drenched in immense sadness of a lost loved one...........

I feel the whole album is a grand performance and well written. What other albums should I listen to? I know I said earlier I was going to listen to Above the Weeping World but never got around to it.

edit: Another album that landed in my inbox, In Mourning - Garden of Storms which was also released October 4th. Ever hear of them? Seems very similar to Insomnium on a skip through listen.....
 
Mr. Gregory

Mr. Gregory

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Messages
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#10
Magic said:
I agree 100%. This is the first Insomnium album I have listened to from beginning to end.....and I like it very much. I like the sense of despondency you get listening to the album. I also plucked out "Pale Morning Star" as an epic masterpiece from Heart Like a Grave. The entire song isn't really that melancholy, IMHO. It does build to some intense speed and power, however, the lyrics are drenched in immense sadness of a lost loved one...........

I feel the whole album is a grand performance and well written. What other albums should I listen to? I know I said earlier I was going to listen to Above the Weeping World but never got around to it.

edit: Another album that landed in my inbox, In Mourning - Garden of Storms which was also released October 4th. Ever hear of them? Seems very similar to Insomnium on a skip through listen.....
Click to expand...
I'd definitely recommend starting with Shadows of the Dying Sun if you liked Heart Like A Grave that much. It's got a similar "hope in despair" sound to it. Pretty much everything they did before Shadows of the Dying Sun is just "despair." LOL. Winter's Gate is a pretty good concept album. It's one 40 minute song split up into 7 tracks. There's a decent amount of variety in it.

If you're up for just despair, then you can honestly take your pick from the rest of the bunch. One For Sorrow was the first album that hinted at a more positive direction for the band lyrically. Most folks would likely recommend Above The Weeping World. It's a pretty good album, but just know that the vocals are super intense. Across the Dark is probably my favorite of their older albums (and also has similarly intense vocals), but they're all good.

I actually own a couple of older In Mourning albums, but I've barely touched them. I know they're a melodic death metal band, but I don't even remember what they sound like.
 
Riff_Raff

Riff_Raff

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#11
Honestly you could start as far back as the debut In The Halls of Awaiting as imo that has their most beautifully crafted songs.
 
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