Insomnium - Shadows of the Dying Sun (2014)

I've been experiencing an ever-increasing level of Insomnium fatigue for years now, because it seems like they just seem content to keep remaking the same album. Shadows of the Dying Sun is more or less Across the Dark Part III, with a number of melodic analogs of songs they've already written, and thus I found it a little difficult not to compare individual tracks here to my favorites of the past like "Down With the Sun". And when that happens, this disc always loses, so you can tell I'm a fraction let down that they seem to have ceased the evolution over their first four outings, hit a stride and then never changed up the pace. Perhaps that's not fair, since the EP previous to this had a real folksy/prog balance, but I was not feeling that one much either.

On a technical level, Shadows is superb, with some of the richest and cleanest production this niche has ever offered. Melodies/harmonies gleam with an emotional radiance, while layers of subtler rhythm guitars and atmospheric but restrained keyboards create a lush background, almost like clouds constantly bursting, only they're the same recycled tears of heaven alighting upon our shoulders and faces. When the clean guitars in tunes like "Revelation" erupt into the heavier parts, you definitely get a whiff of that old In Flames/Dark Tranquillity magic when it was fresh in the 90s, but so many of the melodic progressions in this and other tunes feel almost precisely like particular tunes off the two albums before this one. The heavy vocals continue to channel the resilient, fulfilling growls of Taneli Jarva (Amok-era Sentenced), which is one of the reasons I so enjoyed this band to begin with, since they brought me nostalgia for that under-appreciated work, and there are some cleans in addition; but the distribution of acoustics and melodies seems problematic in its predictability.

I've seen some comments that Insomnium are almost like a 'pop' version of melodic Finnish death, lacking some of the wildness of their peers Children of Bodom, but that tag might have be better applied to Omnium Gatherum, who have a more cubicle sensibility which connects them to the modern world. Come to think of it, there are a lot of -m sounds in these bands' names...mmmmmm, cookies! At any rate, Shadows of the Dying Sun continues this band's solemn commune with the natural world, if it was translated through an impressive studio which flawless 21st century sound. I have no issue with the musicianship or the intentions these guys bring to the table, but as they have already written the same album (in superior quality), I wish they'd throw a few unexpected curve balls into how they compose the guitars. I don't see diehard followers of the group having much of a problem with this, but as One for Sorrow felt like a (very listenable) step down from Across the Dark, this too feels like diminished returns. I feel the same about this as I do when staring at a well cut gemstone...brilliant for a few minutes in how it captures the light this way or that, or summons up a memory of beauty, but ultimately just a superficial stone.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10] (we grow tall then fade away)

http://174.137.191.5/~insomniu/index.php

Insomnium - One for Sorrow (2011)

Finland's melodic death mavens Insomnium are not a band with anything to prove. Three of their four prior albums rank among the best of that particular national niche, and while I found the exception (Above the Weeping World) to be a mild disappointment, it was still decent enough and quite highly praised beyond my personal sphere. With One for Sorrow, the band have continued directly where the 2009 stunner Across the Dark left off, to the extent that the two are virtually indistinguishable outside of minor variations in production, so that's either going to be a positive or negative depending on just how much you enjoyed that. I thought it was certainly a milestone for the Finns, and one of their best outings, but I'm not sure I was in the market for what is more or less a duplicate of that.

One for Sorrow is true to its namesake, and the band retains its rare ability to wrench about the listeners' emotions through wailing walls of melody. Rather than rely on complexity in their compositions, they instead like to build upon simpler rhythmic motifs by intensifying the drums, slathering in the massive, full-throated growls of Niilo Sevänen, and letting those melodies glide above the interwoven mesh like brave gulls traversing the Arctic Circle, clung to the ailing rays of sun to keep them aloft. Like its predecessors, the album's style is routed pretty heavily in the mid to late 90s evolution of their countrymen Amorphis, so you'll hear some psychedelic and atmospheric keyboards throughout the disc, and a bit of vocal variation where the somewhat weak cleans are layered in with the gutturals.

The pacing dynamics are not necessarily placed upon an even footing, mind you, and Insomnium are more often heavy than not, but they'll often tone down to some cleaner guitar sequences like the lush instrumental "Decoherence" or the opening to "Unsung", two of the better songs here. I also really adored the intro piece "Inertia" as it slowly gathered force from its atmospheric ringing to Niilo's heart-pouring background growls, but instead of busting out one of the more potent emotional pieces to capitalized on it, I found "Through the Shadows" to be one of the least interesting and more predictable tracks. More intense are "Only One Who Waits" with the muted melodic tails in its opening thunder, or the moving title track which morphs from steady, percussive clean guitars and drums and layered vocals up to this inescapable, dreamy guitar melody like a beam of light through parted clouds.

Ultimately, I did not find the selection of tracks here to be quite so poignant or impacting as "The Harrowing Years", "The Lay of Autumn" or the epic "Down with the Sun" from the prior album, which was very near perfect in summary. Nor does this album teeter upon the balance of power and fragility quite so well as their superb debut In the Halls of Awaiting. The lyrics are fairly average, with a lot of cliched emotional imagery that exactly read like memorable poetry. I'd say that Insomnium have played it pretty safe here, but it's to their credit that One for Sorrow is still well structured and resonant enough to throttle most of the other bands in the sub-genre, and fans enamored of the colossal productions of fellow Finns Amorphis, Kalmah and Noumena will very likely find themselves in a familiar trance.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (all once beautiful and sacred)

http://www.insomnium.net/

Insomnium - Across the Dark (2009)

As much as Insomnium's 2002 debut In the Halls of Awaiting blew me away, I never was quite as smitten by either of the followups. This 4th album Across the Dark is the best material I've heard from the band in years, 45 minutes and 8 tracks of highly melodic death metal which follows in all the best tradition of Finn bands like Amorphis, Kalmah, and Noumena (and quite a similarity to the past few Dark Tranquillity albums).

All of these tracks have hooks, BIG hooks, and it takes very little time for them to ensnare you. "Equivalence" provides a gentle and welcoming build-up, first with its acoustics and then the flowing leads. "Down With the Sun" is like crawling forth from a cave to suddenly be faced with the song's namesake for the first time in many dark years. The riffing is circular and glorious, each progression of notes painstakingly selected to maximize the song's emotional power. Niilo's vocals are huge growls that work wonders here (reminding me at times of Absence, Elegy, Amok and other great Finnish melodeath records). "Where the Last Wave Broke" builds a nice, choppy progressive riff beneath more of the band's killer melodic lines. "The Harrowing Years" and "The Lay of Autumn" are excellent, slower pieces that roil with power. There are no tracks here that will fail to please you, even after multiple listens.

Ours is the silence
The echo of ageless night
A gleam in the blackest of streams
One fleeing moment

Across the Dark sounds stunning, with a dense and heavy mix that does not betray the band's penchant for sad and powerful lead lines. The vocals mix in quite well with the sad patterns of the chords, evoking both mystique and anger. This album is both a crowning moment for Insomnium and a tribute to its forebears. I'd have to say it is on par with their excellent debut, though not a surprise. The album shines from fore to aft, and has rekindled my faith in this band. As far as melodic death in 2009, this is the one to beat.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10] (always the hard way)

http://www.insomnium.net/