Insomnium - Across The Dark (2009)

My album of 2009 (it beat Between The Buried And Me’s ‘The Great Misdirect'!), and my all time favourite album in the arena of ‘melodic death metal’ by a stretch, this is really not one to miss.

Scandinavia are good at metal. It’s a fact. From it we have seen the evolution of two of the biggest and most popular sub-divisions of metal ever: black metal and melodic death metal. And Finland’s ‘Insomnium’ certainly keep in the spirit of this. ‘Across the Dark’ is an album so full of feeling, and so charged with energy, that even my mum enjoyed it!

‘Insomnium’ have achieved the difficult challenge of managing to create a well-recorded and well-produced album without making it sound too ‘mainstream’ or artificial. The album is a beautiful refinement of the sound they have been crafting on all the albums that have come before this one. It has a dark but somehow hopeful feel to it, so raw that you don’t even have to hear what vocalist Niilo Sevänen is saying to feel the emotion.

Even more than on previous ‘Insomnium’ releases, there is a large focus in ‘Across the Dark’ on the epic, winding and dark riffs of guitarist Ville Friman, the defining sound of this album, and one of the main things that make it so awesome! Every song has its own treasure-chest of truly wonderful riffs flowing beautifully through with grace rarely seen in metal.

Insomnium have always been influenced by doom metal, and while ‘Across The Dark’ is perhaps somewhat less dark and melancholy than previous releases, the influence is still clear. The vocal style is perhaps more 'death' than 'doom', but Niilo certainly portrays more of a pained, emotive growl than common in death metal. Also the use of unconventional instruments sprinkled through the record that are certainly more commonplace in the more melancholy end of metal, but in fact only add to the feel of ‘Across the Dark’.

The standout song for me is the first single: ‘Down With The Sun’. While I love every single song on this album, I cannot overlook the full, epic and warm sound that this song has. The chorus of ‘Where the Last Wave Broke’ also deserves a special mention. For me, their next release is the LP I’m looking forward to more than any other at the moment. Right now, though, I’m still content with ‘Across The Dark’. A phenomenal album, not to be missed.

10/10

BUY THE CD HERE
DOWNLOAD THE ALBUM HERE

1. Equivalence
2. Down With The Sun
3. Where the Last Wave Broke
4. The Harrowing Years
5. Against the Stream
6. Lay of the Autumn
7. Into the Woods
8. Weighed Down With Sorrow