INSOMNIUM: Anno 1696 (DEATH METAL): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

If they were compared to Swallow The Sun for a long time, Insomnium clearly distanced themselves from their compatriots from Juväskylä, especially with "Winter's Gate". Indeed, since this opus made of a single 40-minute track, Niilo Sevänen's band also spoiled us with their EP "Argent Moon", which is full of sweet melancholy. For the continuation of their discographic adventures, the quintet decided to continue with a concept album by based on a short story written by their leader and dealing with the terrible year 1696 in Finland and Sweden, of which Insomnium's homeland was at the time only a region that hadn't yet gained its independence. During this disastrous period, 30% of the Finnish population died as a result of a terrible famine in which cannibalism was reported. In addition, there was a witch-hunt, in particular the beheading of 70 women in the small Swedish parish of Torsaker.

This was enough to nourish the dark inspiration of Sevänen and his companions, who deliver an album entitled "Anno 1696", which is likely to be a landmark in the world of melodic death metal. Indeed, the Finns seem to have concentrated all the qualities of their art here to offer a set of eight pieces cut in a dark and shiny ore at the same time. For if there's one thing that characterises Insomnium, it's this capacity to make a catchy melody shine in the middle of torrents of rage and pain. The guitars' interventions are regularly revealed as lightning bolts tearing the darkness, while pale keyboard lines allow a pale glimmer of hope to filter through. Added to this is a formidable capacity to captivate the listener as much as it anguishes him by using structures flirting with the progressive by varying the themes and the intensities. The monumental 'Godforsaken' sees the crystalline voice of Johanna Kurkela (Auri, Tuomas Holopainen) contrast with the violence of the music and the rage of the growls in a track that alternates between angry outbursts and pauses of an almost soothing despair.

If Niilo Sevänen's growls have taken over from the clear vocals, the latter are all the more powerful when they complement the Finnish band's leader's screams. The cavalcade of 'The Witch Hunter' is thus enriched by the feeling that the performers are telling us the story of this hunt, offering a mirror between the fear of the runaways and the bloody determination of the hunters. Each track has its own importance in the unfolding of this terrifying epic, and it is difficult to separate some from others. We will nevertheless mention the dark and icy ordeal of 'White Christ', reinforced by the vocals of Sakis Tolis (Rotting Christ). It is also impossible to escape the epic and haunting 'Starless Paths' or the orchestral and majestic 'The Rapids', which sinks into whirlwinds of anger and despair.

With "Anno 1696", Insomnium seems to reach the top of its art and definitively mark the landscape of a metal in balance between deep pains and fragile hopes. The Finnish quintet imposes here its trademark and confirms its ambition not to remain locked up in regions too small for its protean talent. - Official website

INSOMNIUM

ANNO 1696

CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS

DEATH METAL