Insomnium - In The Halls Of Awaiting
Candlelight Records, 2002
This young band, behind the name of Insomnium - drawn from the Latin meaning of nightmare and insomnia -, hails from Finnland, formed in 1997. And we know how many good bands Finland has already given to the musical world in the past years and now, here is one more name we should add to this list. After two demos Insomnium got a record deal from the England based Candlelight Records and they released their first full length album last year, titled In The Halls Of Awaiting.
Insomnium play melodic metal. I purposely haven't said death metal because that would narrowing down what they really did musically. Just try to imagine the best moments of Amorphis, older In Flames and Sentenced, give your own ideas to it, shake it and the result is Insomnium. Sure, the strongest influence in their music is rooted in melodic death metal, both the Swedish and the Finnish styles, but Insomnium play something else. It's melodic, dark, melancholic but also strong, fast and aggressive. The harmonies among these elements form the ten memorable songs on the album. The twin guitars' rhythm provide the great melodies with the drums hand in hand, completing the music together with the harsh, understandable growling vocals. The songs are mostly mid-paced with some slower passages but of course there are some straighter, faster ones too. The whole album is rolling over with fresh energy. There are a few acoustical passages too and I wish there were more. It adds more of a peculiar atmosphere to the songs, like it happened with 'The Elder'. It's a dark ballad for me, even if many may find it too fast for a ballad. The songs are not really complex but contain enough details built so well upon each other you hardly recognize, just feel the flowing of the music, forming the songs into one unit.
The mood around the album is possessed by sorrow and mourning, but it's beautiful in its dark kind. It's cold but clear like a winter night under a moonless sky. This is the speciality of the Northern-European bands, to make your soul longing for the cold, endless view of beautiful landscapes. To feel lonely but proud and strong. Take a look at the misty pic on the cover and you will understand. And also listen to the 'Shades of Deep Green'. Like Amorphis, Insomnium are influenced by old Finnish poetry and this imbues the music itself.
My favourite songs: The Ill-Starred Son, The Elder, Shades of Deep Green, In The Halls Of Awaiting.
Maybe Insomnium is not the most original band ever heard and sure they don't have any groundbrakig new idea, but what they produced on this album is high quality emotional music.
"Do you walk in mourning, still wear the grief
Raiment of sorrow, remembrance of me
Through the years of bleakness, winters of bitter cold
Will you not forget me, forsake my soul
Low-spirited is my song, downhearted my tune..."
Tracklist:
1. Ill-Starred Son
2. Song of the Storm
3. Medeia
4. Dying Chant
5. The Elder
6. Black Waters
7. Shades of Deep Green
8. The Bitter End
9. Journey Unknown
10. In the Halls of Awaiting
55:36
http://www.insomnium.cjb.net
http://www.candlelight.co.uk
Candlelight Records, 2002
This young band, behind the name of Insomnium - drawn from the Latin meaning of nightmare and insomnia -, hails from Finnland, formed in 1997. And we know how many good bands Finland has already given to the musical world in the past years and now, here is one more name we should add to this list. After two demos Insomnium got a record deal from the England based Candlelight Records and they released their first full length album last year, titled In The Halls Of Awaiting.
Insomnium play melodic metal. I purposely haven't said death metal because that would narrowing down what they really did musically. Just try to imagine the best moments of Amorphis, older In Flames and Sentenced, give your own ideas to it, shake it and the result is Insomnium. Sure, the strongest influence in their music is rooted in melodic death metal, both the Swedish and the Finnish styles, but Insomnium play something else. It's melodic, dark, melancholic but also strong, fast and aggressive. The harmonies among these elements form the ten memorable songs on the album. The twin guitars' rhythm provide the great melodies with the drums hand in hand, completing the music together with the harsh, understandable growling vocals. The songs are mostly mid-paced with some slower passages but of course there are some straighter, faster ones too. The whole album is rolling over with fresh energy. There are a few acoustical passages too and I wish there were more. It adds more of a peculiar atmosphere to the songs, like it happened with 'The Elder'. It's a dark ballad for me, even if many may find it too fast for a ballad. The songs are not really complex but contain enough details built so well upon each other you hardly recognize, just feel the flowing of the music, forming the songs into one unit.
The mood around the album is possessed by sorrow and mourning, but it's beautiful in its dark kind. It's cold but clear like a winter night under a moonless sky. This is the speciality of the Northern-European bands, to make your soul longing for the cold, endless view of beautiful landscapes. To feel lonely but proud and strong. Take a look at the misty pic on the cover and you will understand. And also listen to the 'Shades of Deep Green'. Like Amorphis, Insomnium are influenced by old Finnish poetry and this imbues the music itself.
My favourite songs: The Ill-Starred Son, The Elder, Shades of Deep Green, In The Halls Of Awaiting.
Maybe Insomnium is not the most original band ever heard and sure they don't have any groundbrakig new idea, but what they produced on this album is high quality emotional music.
"Do you walk in mourning, still wear the grief
Raiment of sorrow, remembrance of me
Through the years of bleakness, winters of bitter cold
Will you not forget me, forsake my soul
Low-spirited is my song, downhearted my tune..."
Tracklist:
1. Ill-Starred Son
2. Song of the Storm
3. Medeia
4. Dying Chant
5. The Elder
6. Black Waters
7. Shades of Deep Green
8. The Bitter End
9. Journey Unknown
10. In the Halls of Awaiting
55:36
http://www.insomnium.cjb.net
http://www.candlelight.co.uk
