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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Melodic death metal perfection, October 17, 2006
I would have never thought Gothenburg-style melodic death metal would impress me so much again. The last time I really, really enjoyed albums like this was in the late 90's; and even though I have never grown away from the genre, I felt most releases of this style were far from exciting. Finally, Insomnium's third album Above the Weeping World has come along and taken me by storm. A great improvement over their previous albums, this disc will totally slay any death metal fan who likes his music both heavy and melodic.
The best part about this album is its consistent heaviness. While Insomnium still heavily relies on the melodic quality of earlier In Flames and blend it with strong vocals, they have toned down on the ever-present acoustic transitions that permeated their earlier material. They still play lots of acoustic guitars on this release, but they are all brief sections in the songs rather than huge, drawn-out passages. Add to this the powerful vocal performance of Niilo Sevanen. I honestly can't imagine a better vocalist for this band; he exudes never-ending aggression, singing with tons of emotion, and unlike most other bands in this vein, he doesn't switch to redundant clean vocal harmonies. Rather, he likes to alternate between a more midranged growl and painful screams, depending on the mood of the song, and he will also use goose bump-inducing whispers.
"Drawn to Black" would be a great choice to represent the general sound of the album, as it combines every aspect of Insomnium to great effect. Its epic-scale intro suggests this band can easily kill most of those Children of Bodom clones who are simply adding in some clean vocals to the mix alongside generic, excessive folk elements that simply don't mesh. Insomnium, on the other hand, is capable of utilising forceful dual guitar work with crushing riffery and explosive drum and bass battery. They really know how to compose death metal songs, adding in their own melodic signature to it. Despite coming from a distinct Gothenburg school of metal, their songs are undeniably stamped with the Finnish darkness fans have come to know ever since Sentenced's North from Here came out. These slower, more melancholic parts are mostly put forth during clean-toned acoustic sections which are underpinned by Sevanen's clever bass lines and harrowing whispers.
Another essential ingredient on the album is Markus Hirvonen's drumming. Very different from the norm, Hirvonen prefers to inject a sparse beat to each piece to basically guide the entire composition, much like he does on the amazing intro of "The Gale", where his rhythm work lays down a very atypical foundation to the otherwise melodically rich guitar harmony. Same thing happens on "Mortal Share", with a great drum rhythm placed atop fatal twin guitars; or the superb anthem "Change of Heart", one of the more compact songs that has a lullaby-like beginning. At one point, when the band recede to a great acoustic break, Hirvonen simply lays down a neat dolo on top of it. Some of the finest material on the album has got to be "At the Gates of Sleep", complete with strong harmonies, vital bass work, and searing guitars until a slowed-down moment where a great nordic folk melody rises to the fore out of nowhere, only to be replaced by a terrific build-up with massive guitar riffs. Likewise, "The Killjoy", also featuring some backing vocals by Antti Haapanen, is among the heaviest cuts on the album, with deep, merciless growls, and punishing staccato lines that culminate in a wonderful climax.
The lyrics are once again inspired by poets such as Bourdillon, Holderlin, and Poe, giving an edge to the songs, "Last Statement" being a standout. The way Sevanen's tortured vocals repeat the line "Don't forget me / Burn a candle when you can" over and over will leave anyone who is into this type of music shaking. Melodic death simply cannot get more honest and emotional than this. The ten-minute finale "In the Groves of Death", where the band moves from beautiful keyboard-driven atmospherics to epic guitar solos and diverse vocal styles, ends exactly the way the album starts: the sound of rain. This lends this disc a great stylistic cohesion, something few new death metal bands have achieved so well over the years.
On another note, the artwork, upon first seeing it, had me thinking of Searing Meadow's Corroding from Inside, another Finnish band, in tone and texture, but as with the music, this one is better. If you are into In Flames until The Jester Race and Dark Tranquility until Projector, and also enjoy the melodic sides of bands like Jarva-era Sentenced, Eternal Tears of Sorrow, and Swallow the Sun, you cannot pass this up. This could be the best melodic death album of the year. This is melodic death metal perfection.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Silver Medal For 2006 in Metal!!!!, February 9, 2007
This is in my humble estimation the second best album of 2006 in metal! The last time I heard something this cohesive, classical and hauntingly melodic was in 2005 courtesy of Dark Tranquility. In fact, at times Insomnium appears to be possessed by the spirit of DT, but they are no Trivium, their music is still original and innovative, although admittedly, nothing new in the genre of melodic death/doom. The exquisitely stunning morose melodies on this album will get stuck in your head for days and you will find yourself humming them even in public! Highly infectious material and very even, as you would be hard pressed to find a filler on this masterpiece! These guys ARE NOT from Gothenburg, though, their Finnish. For a moment, it almost made my number 1 of 2006 until I revisited what ended up as my no.1 yet again...Influences run from DT to early In Flames, Extol, and My Dying Bride, and number 7, the best song on the album reminds me of Opeth at times...Very, very difficult to remove from the CD player and earning every one of five stars and the silver of 2006.One of the best albums in melodic Scandinavian death metal's history reminds me of this unquestionable, classic quality-"Jester Race" by In Flames, and for a good reason: "Come Clarity" may have shown us what we have gained by In Flames' radical transformation, but "Above the Weeping World" reminds us what we have irretrievably lost.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THIS SCRATCHES MY ITCH, May 21, 2007
If you've got an ultra heavy itch that requires attention, this my friends is prescription strength medication. Now, while I truly enjoy a few Melo-Death Metal bands I can not falsely claim that I am a longtime hardcore fan. However, I am a hardcore fan of this band, and in particular this CD. In my opinion this is Melodic Death Metal done to perfection, or as near to perfection as this genre has ever produced. The music is extremely heavy, yet very melodic, and is just plain exhilarating to listen to. The lyrics are excellent, and can only be described as superbly written dark poetry, REAL poetry. However, it should be noted that while the lyrics are excellent, the vocal delivery is very difficult to understand. But this is somewhat normal for the genre, and since the music on this CD is so outstanding the vocal shortcoming really does not bother me that much. However, on the other hand, in the case of this CD I am not sure it is a shortcoming, but rather a conscious and savvy decision to keep the growling vocals at a moderate volume to keep them from becoming overwhelming. Yeah, I'm going with that.
Now, while many of you may find this CD on the tame side, for me this CD very skillfully pushes the envelope of what I am willing to listen to. Anyone who dismisses this CD as soon as they hear the growling vocals will have no idea that they've just missed out on one of the best metal CD's ever; seriously. Again, it is extremely heavy but still has an excellent flow and melodic sense to it. This CD is not all about constant blast and hyperblast beats, or being nonstop fast and furious just for the sake of. I think this CD is simply extraordinary, and I can say without reservation that this is the best Melo-Death Metal CD I've ever heard. It's clear that many others also believe that this CD is something very special, as currently this CD has received only high praise and five star ratings, deserved five star ratings.
If you have never listened to this genre of music before make no mistake about it these are tightly timed complex compositions performed by accomplished musicians. Your average mainstream musicians could not even attempt to play this difficult material. In terms more of you may understand, it would be like asking Nickelback to play Dream Theater's 'Stream Of Consciousness', or play Opeth's 'Ghost Of Perdition', or anything from Dream Theater or Opeth really. It's just not going to happen. Or it would be like giving Kindergartners instruments and asking them to play Nickelback material. Probably not going to happen. OK, that was a bit harsh, but you get my point. Now, although this CD is certainly not for everyone, if you are an honest and true Metal fan you will surely find this CD to be an essential addition to your music collection.
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UPDATE - November 21, 2007
I owned this album for six months before submitting the above review, and owned it an additional six months before submitting this addendum. Well, after a full year I've concluded that this is not just a really good or great album, it's a phenomenal album, a juggernaut. Furthermore, I now own all of the albums that most consider to be the best Melo-Death Metal albums of all time, but in my opinion, to date this album is the genre's acme. For what it is I consider 'Above The Weeping World' to be the (non-mainstream) equivalent of Iron Maiden's 'Powerslave', Dio's 'Holy Diver', AC/DC's 'Back In Black' or Metallica's 'Metallica'. 'Above The Weeping World' is a Melodic Death Metal masterpiece, and I use the word masterpiece somewhere between rarely and never.
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