Insomnium (Finland)
Melodic Death Metal
Tracklist:
01. Wail Of The North
02. Valediction
03. Neverlast
04. Pale Morning Star
05. And Bells They Toll
06. The Offering
07. Mute Is My Sorrow
08. Twilight Trails
09. Heart Like A Grave
10. Karelia
This isn't the type of music I would typically listen to, but I have been seeing really good reviews of this album and thought.......What the hell, give it a listen, it is just an hour of your day. First off, I need to tell you I do NOT like cookie monster growls that much. However, the growls are not that extreme on Heart Like a Grave. I am still able to understand the lyrics and the growls enhance the atmosphere of the songs plus there are plenty of clean vocals that are tastefully mixed into the songs.
I find the music to be very melodic and pleasing to my ears. A lush triple axe assault is exactly what I needed to hear, and Insomnium delivered it with panache. I find the lyrics to be somewhat gothic, especially on songs like "Pale Morning Star" & "And Bells They Toll" (which is a doomier song). The lyrics are more melancholy in nature than solely about death. "Pale Morning Star" is a masterpiece! There are two more masterpieces on this album; "Heart Like a Grave", which is the standout on the album, and the beautiful instrumental "Karelia", which literally spoke to me (a joyous sense of sadness)............
My overall fist impression......the album is really good. The stand outs for me would be the title track "Heart Like a Grave" along with "Pale Morning Star" and the beautiful instrumental, "Karelia".
