In The Halls Of Awaiting

Insomnium | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 30, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Candlelight
• ASIN: B000065V50
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,305 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lingering In The Halls Of Awaiting, July 2, 2006

By 

OzzyApu (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In The Halls Of Awaiting (Audio CD)

I was immediately turned off by the vocals at the beginning, but later on I knew there was greatness in this band of four. Nothing coming from Finland in this department could be turned down without a thorough listen. I love second thoughts...

America took Metal during the '80s, but they were also sharing that time with Norway who was unleashing their own form of it. Through the midst of this lead to the '90s takeover by Sweden, who showed their own uniqueness with style. While the power started to dwindle, it was time for Finland to pick up the axe and strut their stuff. That is why we have been given so many Finnish goodies in the past six to nine years. While Norway tended to combine hatred and internal feelings with their music and while Sweden mainly possessed the ideas, Finland incorporated traditional catchiness and used that capitalize their own sound.

"Ill-Starred Son" begins with simple acoustics and whispers, but then unleashes total riffage while Nillo pounds us with his guttural, demonic vocals. The two guitarists, Ville F. and Ville V., shred and wisk riff after solo and only perform their best.
A song I like a lot never gets a video for it, and in this case it's "Medeia". It begins with a simple solo combined with short chugs. It goes at a steady pace until every shoots with pure force. The song then starts to carry an intensely catchy and enjoyable rhythm with a sound oddly familiar to a song by Wintersun.
"The Bitter End" trails into a fantasy, with this atmospheric distance and chings here and there. Nillo breaks this peace with a demonic yell and utter riffage. The song remains the same in tempo and structure until the solo breaks loose, but it is much too short. The drummer, Markus, proves to be powerful on here and of course on every Insomnium track.
"Journey Unknown" begins with an old In Flames sounding solo, which creates an energetic feeling to the entire song as it pops up more than once. Breaks into an acoustic section over two minutes through, which then turns into a catchy riff/solo spotlight.
I won't go into specific detail on the title track, "In The Halls Of Awaiting", but I will tell you that it is probably the finest track on here, filled with compelling solos, emotional rhythms, stunning riffs, and beauty none surpassed.

Those are just a few of the tracks on this truly great debut. Although many of the Finnish bands to appear have been regarded as Melodic Death, Insomnium are actually Doom Metal with typical Melodic Death elements. The lyrics are mainly about death, darkness, and pain while the sound tends to be slower and less technical. Now because the vocals remain on the same level in every song, it is up to the instruments to create a whole different sound, which makes a listening pleasure to different tunes. One video was shot for "The Elder" from this album and none from the second, but that shouldn't keep you from listening to that one either, as its even better than this one. Nonetheless, Insomnium is a great addition to the many bands you probably already listen to. I would highly ask you to pick this album up, along with the second, -Since The Day It All Came Down-, and the third, -Above The Weeping World-, which will be coming out soon this year. Insomnium will not disappoint you in any way, just give this a listen and see for yourself, your time will not be in vain.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insomnium are extremely talented death metal band., November 14, 2003

By 

Chad Brendan Fogelberg (Longmont, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In The Halls Of Awaiting (Audio CD)

This is the Finnish melodic death metal band's first full-length release. It is an excellent debut. The entire CD is an excellent blend of hard riffs and keyboards. The vocals sound brutal and desperate. Insomnium is similar to other Scandinavian melodic metal bands, such as In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Sentenced, Amorphis or Rapture. There are five standout tracks on the album. "Ill-Starred Son" is a brutal song with a great intro. "Medeia" is the best song on the album, and is very moving lyrically and emotionally. "Dying Chant" is a heavy song that sounds great following "Medeia". "The Elder," is one of the more interesting songs, because it is much more melodic and has clear vocals. The last song on the album "In the Halls of Awaiting" is a great title track as well. Anyone who loves Scandinavian metal should find this CD and buy it, especially if you are a fan of Swedish/Finnish Melodic Death Metal or "Gothenburg" sound.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In a word: awesome, September 1, 2006

By 

Northlander (The Northlands, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In The Halls Of Awaiting (Audio CD)

Melodic death metal doesn't get much better than this. The sheer passion and intensity infused into the music and lyrics of Insomnium are what take them far beyond your typical angst-ridden "Cookie Monster vocal" band, and into...well, The Halls of Awaiting.

Every song on the CD is a work of art unto itself, and most appreciative death metal fans will be able to see the many subtle differences between them. The vocal style doesn't change much, and the overwhelmingly serious, despairing lyrics (which borrow more from doom metal than anything else) are growled out not with anger or malice, but with sorrow. The entire album is a moving expression of raw pain, a dark work of art on a rough musical canvas. Suffice it to say, "In the Halls of Awaiting" must be heard to be believed.