What’s up folks? I decided to start a new series based on a tried and true idea that many people have done before, but I’m gonna do it in my own way. I am going to start ranking every studio album released by my personal favorite bands. I’m going to rank them mainly on my personal enjoyment of them, but also taking into account some of the technical aspects of each album. To start off this series, I’m going with one of my favorite bands ever who has been dominating my playlist recently. I’ve listened to each of Insomnium’s albums at least 4 times and some as much as almost a hundred times.
So let’s get into it. Track List:1) III-Starred Son2) Song of the Storm3) Medela4) Dying Chant5) The Elder6) Black Waters7) Shades of Deep Green8) The Bitter End9) Journey Unknown10) In the Halls of AwaitingInsomnium’s debut, In the Halls of Awaiting, is as about as solid of a debut that you could hope for from a band.
Aug 09, 2006 Above the Weeping World has received extraordinary reviews both in Finland and abroad, and the album debuted on the Finnish album charts at the 9th position, which is a remarkable achievement for a melodic death metal band. At the same time Insomnium embarked on their first full European tour, playing 36 gigs in six weeks, in 15 countries. With four composers in the band the sound of Insomnium is now richer and more versatile than ever before. “Above The Weeping World” (2006) and “Across The Dark” (2009) through to their.
It wasn’t an instant classic or anything, but it introduce the world to exactly who Insomnium is and layed the foundation for what was to come with later albums. I personally don’t think that the band has any bad albums, and I really do enjoy this album, I think it’s great, but it is the weakest of them all in my opinion. The band was just starting out and finding their identity with this record. This album really foreshadows the masterful melodeath that we would eventually see from these guys in the years to come.
But that doesn’t mean that there is no reason to go back to this record, because there are still some killer tracks to be found.My Rating: 8/10Favorite Tracks: Shades of Deep Green, Song of the Storm, In the Halls of Awaiting. Track List:1) Nocturne2) The Day it All Came Down3) Daughter of the Moon4) The Moment of Reckoning5) Bereavement6) Under the Plaintive Sky7) Resonance8) Death Walked the Earth9) Disengagement10) Closing Words11) Song of the Forlorn SonWith Since the Day All Came Down, the band’s sophomore album, Insomnium took a big step in the right direction. They now had found their identity, melodic death metal with some infusions of a little doom and prog elements, and began perfecting their craft.
Some of the best songs Insomnium has ever written can be found on this album, but as a whole it isn’t entirely on that level. It is still a killer record, but it wasn’t quite as memorable or impactful as some of their later records. It’s a really great metal album with some moments of true brilliance sprinkled in.My Rating: 8.5/10Favorite Tracks: Daughter of the Moon, Death Walked the Earth.
Track List:1) Equivalence2) Down With the Sun3) Where the Last Wave Broke4) The Harrowing Years5) Against the Stream6) The Lay of Autumn7) Into the Woods8) Weighted Down With SorrowAcross the Dark is the band’s 4th album and is the perfect example of what it means to be consitent. While this album did take things in a slightly new direction with the addition of clean vocals, it still focused on all of the things that Insomnium does best: killer and catchy riffs, beautiful guitar melodies, and powerful lyricism. There is nothing I can really say bad about this album other than that some of the songs just aren’t as memorable as some of the band’s other works.My Rating: 8.75/10Favorite Tracks: Down With the Sun, Where the Last Wave Broke, The Lay of Autumn. Track List:1) The Gale2) Mortal Share3) Drawn to Black4) Change of Heart5) At the Gates of Sleep6) The Killjoy7) Last Statement8) Devoid of Caring9) In the Groves of DeathInsomnium improved by a lot from the previous album, STDACD, and with this record they very nearly had a masterpiece in my eyes. This record has all the hallmarks of classic Insomnium, but it’s brought up to a whole new level and infused with so much emotion. The band had some doom elements on their previous works, but on this record they really embraced it and showed that they could be a top tier doom band if they wanted to be.
This album really speaks to me and is the first album released by them that I consider to be in the upper tier of their discography.My Rating: 9.25/10Favorite Tracks: At the Gates of Sleep, The Killjoy, In the Groves of Death. Track List:1) The Primeval Dark2) While We Sleep3) Revelation4) Black Heart Rebellion5) Lose to Night6) Collapsing Words7) The River8) Ephemeral9) The Promethean Song10) Shadows of the Dying Sun11) Out to the SeaHere we have probably Insomnium’s most popular album and the on that probably introduced a lot of people to the band. They really embraced the clean vocals a lot more on this record than any of the other ones, and their are a few borderline ballads on this album like The Promethean Song and Lose to Night. I view this album very similarily to Above the Weeping World in that it is a near masterpiece in my eyes. The only thing it suffers from is what also had an impact on Across the Dark, which is that a few of the songs aren’t the most memorable, but they are still really good songs. Even with that, this album still stands head and shoulders above a lot of other metal records, especially in melodeath.My Rating: 9.5/10Favorite Tracks: The Primeval Dark/While We Sleep, The Promethean Song, Ephemeral. Track List:1) Inertia2) Through the Shadow3) Song of the Blackest Bird4) Only One Who Waits5) Unsung6) Every Hour Wounds7) Decoherence8) Lay the Ghost to Rest9) Regain the Fire10) One for SorrowIn my opinion, these top two albums are perfect records.
I think that they are both masterpieces and some of the best metal albums ever, not just in melodeath. The first of the two here is One for Sorrow. I love everything about this album: the riffs, the melodies, the clean/growl vocal harmonies, the lyricism, the emotion, etc. The only problem with this album really is some minor production issues, but asides from that this album is flawless in my eyes. There are so many moments that give me chills on this record.
From the buildup and explosive chorus in the title track to the chorus in Regain the Fire and the outro of Only One Who Waits. I love this album to death and I always will, but it isn’t number 1 in my opinion.My Rating: 9.75/10 (because of production, 10/10 musically)Favorite Tracks: Regain the Fire, One for Sorrow, Song of the Blackest Bird. Track List:1) Winter’s Gate (Parts 1-7)Insomnium’s newest album is their best in my opinion. This is a masterpiece and an instant classic.
This album has everything you could ever want from this band: amazing lyricism that tells an epic story, great dynamics throughout through use of quiet moments and piano pieces, memorable riffs, beautiful melodies, killer solos, the perfect balance of growls and cleans, infusion of a lot of prog and doom elements, etc. This is the first thing I heard by this band and is what caused me to instantly fall in love with them. There are parts that give me chills on this record as well as moments that get me borderline emotional. This is just a musical masterpiece in every sense. Everyone should give this album at least 1 listen in their lifetime.
I could go on forever, but I think you get the picture.My Rating: 10/10Favorite Parts: 3 and 5.