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Album Review – Insomnium / Anno 1696 (2023)

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Finland’s masters of Melodic Death Metal return with a bold and sinister new album, taking us back into the dark times of the witch prosecutions in Northern Europe.

Based on a short story by Niilo Sevänen (just like their 2016 album Winter’s Gate), Anno 1696, the ninth studio album by Finnish Melodic Death Metal institution Insomnium, takes the listeners back into the dark times of the witch prosecutions in Northern Europe, famine and superstition. Mixed by Jaime Gomez Arellano at Arda Recorders, mastered by Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Recording Studios, displaying a classy artwork by Sami Makkonen, and featuring guest keyboards by Coen Janssen (Epica, Amahiru), the follow-up to their 2019 effort Heart like a Grave doesn’t disappoint at all, proving why this Joensuu, Pohjois-Karjala-based unity currently comprised of vocalist and bassist Niilo Sevänen, guitarists Ville Friman, Markus Vanhala and Jani Liimatainen, and drummer Markus Hirvonen has become one of the pillars of the genre in the entire Scandinavia, delivering first-class Melodic Death Metal album after album for our total delight.

Acoustic guitars and tribal beats ignite the opening tune 1696, being gradually joined by several other elements and evolving into a demolishing feast of their trademark Melodic Death Metal, with Niilo’s growls matching perfectly with their melodious guitar lines; followed by White Christ, presenting strong, classic lyrics flawlessly declaimed by the iconic Sakis Tolis of Rotting Christ together with Niilo (“In the name of our Saviour and Lord / In the name of our Monarch and the Crown / I’ve come to bring the law and justice to this land / I’ve come to bring the light and grace of the Christ”) in a lecture in Melodic Black and Death Metal. Then we have Godforsaken, featuring Johanna Kurkela (Altamullan Road, Auri, Eye of Melian) on vocals, adding a touch of finesse and melancholy to the overall result, accompanied by the massive beats by Markus Hirvonen and the piercing riffs by the band’s guitar triumvirate, flowing into the pure Insomnium tune Lilian, where a serene, delicate intro once again explodes into their unparalleled sound, showcasing an amazing job done by Ville, Markus Vanhala and Jani with their axes and, therefore, inviting us to headbang in pitch black darkness.

More of their poetic, bitterly cold lyrics is offered to us all in Starless Paths (“Cruel is the winter’s might / Dreadful the howl of wind / Beyond the pathless treks we roam / Where the church bells never toll”) while the music sounds extremely harmonious and dense from start to finish, and the band continues to distill their stylish Melodic Death Metal in The Witch Hunter, spearheaded by the classic beats by Markus Hirvonen while keeping the album as vibrant as it can be. The shortest of all tracks, titled The Unrest, begins in a similar acoustic way as the opening tune while Niilo darkly declaims the song’s words together with the clean vocals by Ville and Jani, and albeit being a good song it lacks the same energy from the others. Finally we’re treated to The Rapids, bringing forward a superb fusion of violence, melancholy, harmony and darkness by Insomnium, offering our avid ears almost eight minutes of their undisputed music. Moreover, Niilo roars deeply while his bandmates make sure the music remains imposing until the very last second, with their guitar solos piercing our souls majestically.

Perhaps the best way to fully understand everything Insomnium wanted to accomplish with Anno 1696 would be by watching this track by track video, and before or after you do so you can stream the album in its entirety on Youtube and on Spotify, being therefore properly immersed in the sinister world crafted by such important band from the Finnish scene. Also, don’t forget to start following them on Facebook and on Instagram, and above all that, to purchase the excellent Anno 1696 by clicking HERE or HERE. As already mentioned, the album is all about the witch prosecutions in Northern Europe, and there’s nothing better than the Stygian and melancholic music by Insomnium to guide us all through such dark and horrifying times.

Best moments of the album: White Christ, Lilian and The Rapids.

Worst moments of the album: The Unrest.

Released in 2023 Century Media

Track listing
1. 1696 6:18
2. White Christ 6:03
3. Godforsaken 8:35
4. Lilian 4:29
5. Starless Paths 7:48
6. The Witch Hunter 5:43
7. The Unrest 3:52
8. The Rapids 7:38

Japanese Edition Disc 2 – Songs of the Dusk
9. Flowers of the Night 5:28
10. Stained in Red 6:50
11. Song of the Dusk 9:43

Band members
Niilo Sevänen – lead vocals, bass
Ville Friman – guitars, clean vocals
Markus Vanhala – guitars
Jani Liimatainen – guitars, clean vocals
Markus Hirvonen – drums

Guest musicians
Sakis Tolis – vocals on “White Christ”
Johanna Kurkela – vocals on “Godforsaken”
Coen Janssen – keyboards

Album Review – BloodBlind / BloodBlind EP (2017)

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Mixing a punk attitude with metal music, a group of four Finnish musicians are ready to rock the world with the flammable amalgamation of different styles and ideas found in their debut album.

Mixing a punk attitude with metal music, a group of four musicians from Helsinki and Joensuu (a city and municipality in North Karelia in the province of Eastern Finland), has been working together for the past two years to give life to Melodic Thrash/Punk Metal entity BloodBlind, bringing their own influences to the mix and therefore creating a very unique sound. The result of that amalgamation of styles and ideas can be better appreciated in their debut self-titled EP, comprised of three electrified compositions that will help spread the word of BloodBlind throughout the world of independent heavy music.

The young and restless BloodBlind, formed by Tommi Kokko on vocals, Antti Kalliomäki on guitars, Janne Saksola on bass and Frank Fagerström on drums, were responsible for all of the production, visuals and themes found in the EP, with only some external help used in the mixing process. With their first release out, the band is gearing up to take to the stages and setting up to record their first full-length in a proper studio, but before that happens I highly recommend you open up some space in your room to bang your head and jump up and down to the invigorating and acid music offered in the EP by those four metallers who certainly know how to put the words “punk” and “metal” together in a compelling way.

Janne ignites the opening track Fuel for Fury with his heavy-as-hell, low-tuned bass punches, with the sound evolving to a blend of Thrash, Groove and Punk Metal led by the enraged growls by Tommi, while Antti makes sure the music remains as sharp and hostile as possssible with his riffs and solos. In the following tune, Will to Fight (featuring gang vocals on chorus by Finnish Thrash Metal band Maniac Abductor), BloodBlind deliver an anti-bullying message (“never give up, never give in”, says the band), joining in on the campaign against online bullying. With a stronger Rock N’ Roll vibe and endless electricity, Tommi’s screams sound even angrier than before (for a good reason), leaning towards Melodic Death Metal and Metalcore-like vocals, while Antti and Frank dictate the rhythm in this obscure anthem destined to be their biggest hit without a shadow of a doubt. And last but not least, we have another blast of Thrash and Punk Metal united with hints of Metalcore in Cancer of Society, a mid-tempo aggressive tune with highlights to the once again pounding beats by Frank and the menacing bass lines by Janne, not to mention the soulful solos by Antti and the flammable sounds emanating from both guitar and bass during the whole song.

In a nutshell, BloodBlind definitely succeeded in delivering exciting metal music through their short and sweet self-titled EP (which can be listened in its entirety on on YouTube or on Spotify), and if you want to show your support to this promising band go check their Facebook page and YouTube channel, and buy a copy of the album on BandCamp, on iTunes or on Amazon. There’s no doubt that those Finnish metallers are ready to rock the world with their thrilling music, proving one more time that talent and hard work, when properly put together, always result in something good.

Best moments of the album: Will to Fight.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2017 Independent

Track listing
1. Fuel for Fury 3:59
2. Will to Fight 4:53
3. Cancer of Society 4:21

Band members
Tommi Kokko – vocals
Antti Kalliomäki – guitars
Janne Saksola – bass
Frank Fagerström – drums

Guest musician
Maniac Abductor (band) – gang vocals on “Will to Fight”

Album Review – Insomnium / Shadows Of The Dying Sun (2014)

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Insomnium provide us high quality Melodic Death Metal just the way we like it, directly from the land of ice and snow.

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insomnium_sotdsAfter the huge disappointments from Ahola and Sonata Arctica this year, we’re finally able to enjoy some decent Finnish Heavy Metal with the album Shadows Of The Dying Sun, from Melodic Death Metal band Insomnium. Although this is the sixth full-length album from this Joensuu-based dark and gothic band formed in 1997, it’s only the first with guitarist Markus Vanhala (Omnium Gatherum), and the final result is so professional and enjoyable that it might soon be considered by fans the best so far in the band’s career.

Their lyrical themes may not be the happiest in the world, as Insomnium usually sings about pain, loss, darkness, and especially how we cannot beat time, which in the end is the main connector of all those elements, but that doesn’t make their music less exciting. Quite the contrary, when a band is capable of awakening inside us a feeling that time is passing by and that we should do something about our lives, in other words, when a band makes us THINK about our lives, that’s when their music deserves to be listened, shared and truly appreciated.

One of the most interesting characteristics in Shadows Of The Dying Sun is that it’s not only Melodic Death Metal, but a substantial mix of other genres such as Doom, Black and even Folk Metal, which can be noticed since the very beginning of The Primeval Dark, with its enticing atmospheric instrumental, heavy riffs and deep vocals, working like an “intro” to one of the highlights of the album, the 6-minute melodic masterpiece While We Sleep, an awesome track with clean and guttural vocals blending really well, intense lyrics (“When all you ever wish for is to go back once more / When all you ever wish is to open that cage and long / When all you feel is remorse, pain and regret / When you brought on curse unable to move on?”) and a stunning riff in the background that gives the song an even more melodic sonority. Not only that, the smooth passage together with a nice guitar solo after 4 minutes until the end of the song is great, and don’t forget to check its superb official music video at the end of this review.

insomniumAnd that was only the beginning of the album, which goes on with Revelation, a song that constantly varies from raw to more melodic Death Metal and back again, with the instrumental always being very clean despite the heaviness of the music; and Black Heart Rebellion, a very melancholic and brutal track where drummer Markus Hirvonen abuses his double bass. The guitar duo and riffs are also amazing, and add to that some thoughtful lyrics and Niilo Sevänen’s above-the-average performance, and you have another memorable moment in the album.

Lose To Night is a more gothic song with some Paradise Lost-ish elements, moving it closer to Doom Metal rather than the band’s traditional Death Metal, while Collapsing Words brings the album back to a heavier sonority, again with awesome vocals by Niilo. These two songs are followed by The River, which has many elements from Black Metal (especially drums and riffs), with highlights to the semi-acoustic and very melodic ending; and the more commercial (but not less pleasant) single Ephemeral, with its amazing lyrics (“Darkness is ignorance / Knowledge is light / Fight only with yourself / Or the shadows of the night”) and a totally catchy chorus. Unless you have a very good reason for hating Insomnium, there’s no way you won’t get addicted to this song.

Finally, in order to end the album in a high note, the band offers us the beautiful ballad The Promethean Song, where the guitar riff works perfectly with the acoustic guitar, and Shadows Of The Dying Sun, with a dark bass tune to start it in an excellent way, a great chorus, and more powerful bass lines by Niilo along the whole song. Furthermore, if you’re a fan of the band, don’t miss the special limited digipak edition of Shadows Of The Dying Sun, which includes a bonus CD with four bonus tracks.

And was the album art inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s classic The Birds, or by the zombie birds from Resident Evil? Anyway, although it can be relatively simple to our eyes, it’s darkly delightful and very effective in translating into images all the musicality in the album. In short, this is the high quality Heavy Metal we always expect from any band that comes from the cold and marvelous Finland, and as previously mentioned the intensity the band puts in their music and lyrics is commendable, elevating them to the status of one of the best active Finnish bands today.

Best moments of the album: While We Sleep, Black Heart Rebellion, Collapsing Words and Ephemeral.

Worst moments of the album: Revelation and The River.

Released in 2014 Century Media Records

Track listing
1. The Primeval Dark 3:16
2. While We Sleep 6:20
3. Revelation 5:15
4. Black Heart Rebellion 7:03
5. Lose To Night 4:56
6. Collapsing Words 4:38
7. The River 7:57
8. Ephemeral 4:01
9. The Promethean Song 6:41
10. Shadows Of The Dying Sun 6:32

Limited Digipak bonus tracks
11. Out to the Sea 5:17
12. The Emergence 1:46
13. The Swarm 2:54
14. The Descent 3:11

Band members
Niilo Sevänen − vocals, bass
Ville Friman − backing vocals, guitar
Markus Vanhala − guitar
Markus Hirvonen − drums