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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lingering In The Halls Of Awaiting, July 2, 2006
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.
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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
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.
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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
triumphant return of pure melodic death metal, June 11, 2004
In a day when all our favorite bands of the past are opting to go nu-metal, it's inspiring to see a band ignore trends and release a pure album worthy of it's place among the greats. The album kicks it off with a killer track, ill-starred son, and dosen't ever let up. The acoustic/heavy contrast in The Elder is one of the best I've ever heard and the 10 minute + title track puts new Opeth to shame. The vocals sound like Mikeal Stanne of Dark Tranquility but with an intensity he's been lacking for a while. Everything else is pretty much what you'd expect from a good Melodic Death album: Lots of skillful guitar playing and heavy drumming. Definitly earns it's place among In Flames: Whoracle and Opeth's: Morningrise and all the other amazing Melodic Death albums.
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