Customer Reviews

In The Halls Of Awaiting

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

From amongst the cluttered sea of melodic death and doom metal flooding out of the Sweden/Finland area comes the suprising first release of what looks to be one of the better newcomers in quite a while, Insomnium. Mixing elements of melo-death(In Flames, Dark Tranquillity) with some crunchier guitar riffs and melodies, the overall album manages to create it's own atmosphere and style of dark, solemn beauty.

Ill-Starred Son - After a short acoustic passage, this song blasts right into some heavy riffs and melancholy melodies. We also see Niilo using a few different vocal techinques, which keeps the overall song sounding fresh. (9/10)

Song Of The Storm - Posessing a uniquely grungy sort of sound (I don't know how else to describe it), Song Of The Storm clocks in at a slightly faster pace than most of the other songs on the album, and keeps up the techinical assault of dual guitar harmonies that makes Insomnium who they are. Unfortunately, the vocals occasionally sound muffled, which keeps the listener from enjoying them as much as possible. (8/10)

Medeia - Possibly the best song on the album, Medeia showcases some of the most memorable tunes of any of the songs. Vocals sound perfect and the lyrics are exceptionally well-written
("By starlight, I rock to sleep my dearest ones, under the cold sky I lull to rest my darlings."). (10/10)

Dying Chant - Aside from a couple of great riffs (the opening riff for example), Dying Chant is one of the weakest songs on the album, since neither the lyrics, nor the majority of the melodies are very catchy. While this is by far not a bad song, it seems a bit sub-par when compared to most of the other songs on the album. (7/10)

The Elder - The Elder has more acoustic passages than any of the other songs, and as such, is a very special song on the album where the guitarists get to show off some of their most intricate work and the listener gets a bit of a rest from the smashing metal onslaught. The lyrics are also above average, and quite enjoyable to listen to. (9/10)

Black Waters - I overlooked the greatness of this song my first few times through the album, but it grew on me and my opinion of it has risen sharply. Black Waters is somewhat heavier than many of the other songs, but hidden within is a large dose of instrumental excellance. Give this one some time before you pass judgement on it. (9/10)

Shades Of Deep Green - Shades has what is undeniably the best opening riff on the album, and has a prog rock-ish kind of sound to it which makes it unforgettable. Being the second longest song on the album (around 7 minutes), the band was able to pack a lot of interesting guitar harmonies in Shades Of Deep Green that help to make it an excellant song in it's own rite. (10/10)

The Bitter End - This song is average Insomnium fare except for the lyrics which are some of the best on the album. The lengthy fade-in introduction is well implemented, and some memorable melodies are present, making The Bitter End a fine addition to the album, and well worth listening through. (8/10)

Journey Unknown - My least favourite song on the album is Journey Unknown. It just doesn't have any really defining features which make it stand out. The lyrics are also somewhat wordier than most of the others and don't posess the poetic greatness of songs like 'Medeia' and 'Black Waters'. (7/10)

In The Halls Of Awaiting - As this is both the title track, and the longest song on the album, In The Halls Of Awaiting has a lot to live up to. It fares quite nicely in all aspects, even incorporating some piano aspects into its already abundant musical contents. The longer fade out at the end casts the perfect effect as the outro of both the song and the album. Nicely wrapped up I must say - (9/10)

Overall, this is a highly recommended album to almost any metal fan as it contains a fair amount of diversity and technical musicianship. Now lets hope that Insomnium can keep up the incredible work for their next album!

Recent times have brought many Melodic Death Metal bands which so many people have blindly perceived as actually being good. Bands such as Dark Tranquillity and In Flames, so on and so forth. For a while, these bands were just fine for me. I enjoyed them a lot, and could listen to them for hours on end. That was until I heard Insomnium. Some people say Insomnium are similar to In Flames and Dark Tranquillity, but this simply isn't true. Insomnium has created, with this album as well as it's successor, an incredibly original approach to Melodic Death Metal. After listening to this and "Since the Day it All Came Down", I can no longer stomach In Flames or Dark Tranquillity. Their music is boring and unoriginal. I'm not saying it's bad music, but it simply isn't anything new on the Death Metal scene. A band as good as Insomnium hasn't come along since Sentenced's earlier days with Taneli Jarva (North From Here, Amok), and if Insomnium keeps going in this sort of progression, they may very well be the new Kings of Melodic Death Metal. This album is a recommended buy for anyone who thinks they're ready to break the chains which has bound them to mediocre Melodic Death Metal for so long, and move into the next phase of music. Insomnium's music is rich with incredible guitar riffs, acoustic parts, remarkable growls, beautiful lyrics, and a great feel. I have not heard a single Insomnium song yet that I did not like.

Insomnium is one of the best melodic death bands I've come across in quite some time. Quite some time indeed. These guys set a great atmosphere with their melodies, great guitar harmonies and melodies. GET IT SON

Finland has turned out some of the best metal in all genres, but is especially known for its score of bands that play music of a dark and sad nature. The Land of a Thousand Lakes seems to radiate sorrow into the very bones of its inhabitants and bands such as Amorphis and Sentenced have used this to make some of the most melancholy music ever to fall on a metal fan's ears. In one album, this band has toppled all of them. Insomnium's first full-length album, In the Halls of Awaiting, is a piece of pure genius which takes elements of progressive doom and melodic death, and turns it into a juggernaut of Finnish metal. Purely disheartened lyrics are put forth from the potent throat of Niilo Sevänen, who presents each song with rumbling vocals of genuine longing and whispered remorse. The duel guitars of Ville Vänni and Ville Friman create fantastic music with walls of sound like on "Black Waters" or with sorrowful melodies like on "Medeia". Markus Hirvonen thunders along with precision, along with Sevänen's bass work, and is the core to the breakdowns, like on "The Elder". The songs range from slower numbers that will please almost every doom metal fan, to the quick and catchy songs that melodic death metal fans crave, but Insomnium adds an original spin to the sometimes over saturated field. The sad poetry of songs like "Ill-stared Son" and "The Bitter End" are enough to bring tears to your eyes, and there is no fault found in the music, which is amazing for a first release. This is sincerely one of the best albums of all time and a wonderful listen from beginning to end. Fans of In Flames, Amorphis, and Dark Tranquility would do well to add it to their collections.

I had been looking for this album for a long time, forgot about it, then stumbled upon it recently. Having fallen in love with the bands later two albums, 'Above the Weeping World', and 'Since the Day it all came down', I really wanted to check out their debut album. Now, any cocky metal-head can give you the run down on the formations of the Gothenburg Melodic Death Metal scene, and how their favorite band from said scene went mainstream or Metal-core, but most won't admit to how one-dimensional Melodic Death Metal can get at times, and 'In the Halls of Awaiting' is definitely one-dimensional Melodic Death Metal.

Well, Insomnium aren't from Gothenburg, Sweden (They are from Finland actually), but their style is very comparable to early In Flames, very similar in fact; this includes the at times very cheesy guitar licks and lame repetitive drum patterns. 'In The Halls of Awaiting' is a perfectly awesome example of great Melodic Death Metal. Each song has its heavy/soft dynamic, each song has its typical double-bass drum rumblings, duel guitar-isms, and growls. There are even acoustic breakdowns. Yes, its a great debut album, and I'm sure there will be plenty of nostalgic metal heads who love it, its just not timeless.

Listening to this album you can clearly tell it was made almost 7 years ago. It carries too many relics of the 1990s Melodic Death Metal era. If you're into that, then you will LOVE this album. If you're not, then you might want to check out their later albums, as they go a little more extreme whilst still retaining their Melodic Death Metal roots.

There are 10 tracks, all of which are great, head-banging, soulful tunes, yet something feels lacking from them. It could be the Melo-Death style of old that gets to me. They are all good, but none really stand out as "amazing",and this is the problem with this release. Its an awesome debut from an awesome band, its just rather one-dimensional, which makes it a little more than above average. Now, there are some awesome sections in particular songs, but none of them really wowed me all the way through. For one, the acoustic breakdowns in 'Shades of Deep Green' are absolutely amazing, but the song as a whole isn't mind-blowing.

Let me explain what I mean by "one-dimensional":

For me, an amazing band is a band that can incorporate more than one style into their music. Any band can use the heavy/soft dynamics, any drummer can endlessly pound on their drum set, any guitar can shred out riff after riff, but only a select few can add a unique attitude and personality while they are doing it. 'In the Halls of Awaiting' does not have this, it just feels like your typical Melodic Death Metal, from Finland. Once again, I realize this is a debut album, and the band does some growing on their later releases, but I feel it should be noted.

This is still a good 4-star release, its just doesn't have that timeless factor.

Like everything Insomnium has sent forth, this album is a must-have if you like melancholy melodic metal. With rifs to die for and a sombre atmosphere all the way through, the hair on your arms will inevitably stand when you hear some of the many truly memorable passages which cling to your ears and soon become a tune in your head that you can't get rid off. The skills of these young Fins are dazzling, and especially their talent for composing songs with variation and contrast is striking.
The other two albums they have out (Since The Day It All Came Down and Above The Weeping World) are equally good, if not slightly better, actually, and follow the same ingenious recipe: melancholy mood and memorable passages!