I discovered this band a few months ago and I felt in love. The way that they mix the melodies with the heavy is amazing. By the way, congrats for your chanel, I don't speak so well in English and watching your videos are making me improve in english.
One for sorrow needs to get more love. The lyrics , the growls, the energy and melancholy in every single song are nothing short of a masterpiece. This album speaks to the soul and is a 1000 times better than above the weeping world. Winter's Gate is the best trough.
Insomnium really doesn't have a bad album and I see that people have vastly different rankings. I personally love Shadows and Heart the most, but I totally get the Katatonia comparison.
@@MetalTrenches Shadows is one of their best, not worst!! Heart like a Grave is boring and I don't get the Katatonia reference unless you're picking their last 3 albums, which are dull, but they're a much different and better band IMO..
@@alexjurigo8393 A year late, but I'll still ask: by last album so you mean Heart Like a Grave or Anno? If you mean the latter, I fully agree with you.
I don't envy your task in only having two masterpiece selections here. Insomnium are next level. I mean "Shadow Of The Dying Sun" in good tier says it all about these guys. Brilliant album
I'm excited to hear this new one and I have to agree, there is not one bad Insomnium album. They are the most consistent band in melodic death metal no doubt.
Here in Finland we are very proud of Insomnium and their world wide success. I think their best records are easily Heart Like a Grave and the previous Argent Moon ep. Can't wait to see them live again 🩵🙏🇫🇮
As Croatia i can confirm that. Meet few people from Finland who are not even metalheads and they whete so proud when i told Insomnium, Amorphos and Falconer are among my favourite bands ever
I lived in Lieksa for 6 months, Koli (where Heart like a grave was shot) was literally a pilgrimage location for me 😂 Also i wore an insomnium hoodie on the day i entered Finland, and i got a lot cheers from finns, was great 😁
"Winter's Gate" is a masterpiece IMO and my #1 as well. I am looking forward to seeing them live and the new album. I have had the same experience as you with "Shadows" and the debut (both going in opposite directions!)
I've started really getting into Insomnium this year, although I've always had a lot of respect for them and I really enjoyed Winter's Gate when it came out. Like you say ranking each of their albums is hard as they have one of the most solid discographies of any modern metal band. One thing not mentioned in this video that I feel is worthy of note is the addition of guitarist Jani Liimatainen (formerly of Sonata Arctica) since Heart Like A Grave, which I feel has helped to give the newer albums a bit of a folky/symphonic texture to them. You can really hear that on a lot of tracks on Anno 1696, I've been enjoying it loads and it might end up in my top 3 favourite Insomnium albums next to Winter's Gate and Above The Weeping World. Oh yeah, and long-time guitarist/clean vocalist Dr Villa Friman is a research associate in evolutionary ecology!
9. Across The Dark 8. One for Sorrow 7. In the Halls of Awaiting 6. Anno 1696 5. Since the Day it All Came Down 4. Shadows of the Dying Sun 3. Heart Like a Grave 2. Above The Weeping World 1. Winter's Gate
I've been an Insomnium fan since I got a promo copy of In the Halls of Awaiting nearly 20 years ago. Insomium are my favorite band but our rankings differ drastically. Shadows was a fucking masterpiece that heavily relies on the ebb and flow of the track placement. The increase in production value starting with Across the Dark really opened up the bands sound with a much richer and deeper sonic landscape that was lacking in the first three albums. I would also include Under the Moonlit Waves and Argent Moon in my rankings too. Argent Moon encapsulates all the best parts of Insomnium in essentially four ballads. BALLADS. The melancholy just oozes and drips from it. Winters Gates is masterfully written, though a 42 minutes, I find I tend to loose attention and it's tough to pick up again if you stop mid way through. One for Sorrow left a huge mark on me just for the slow, melancholic entrance of Inertia bleeds into and gives way to Through the Shadows and the bombastic stylings of Blackest Bird. It just hooks you and pulls you into to the world the band created. Heart Like A Grave falls a bit lower for me, with fewer stand out tracks and I almost feel like removing some of the "filler" and replacing those tracks with the Argent Moon tracks would have produced a far far superior album. While I love the first three albums, they are in all honesty the ones I revisit the least, opting rather to listen to more of a greatest hits style of playlist from them. All in all however, there is not a weak album (or EP) to Insomniums name and as was stated in the video it only fractional degrees of differences. They may very well be the first and only band to claim all their albums could be top tier. Anno 1696 literally just showed up in the mail this morning so I don't have an opinion on it yet. I have avoided the singles and reviews intentionally as to not bias or impact my first listen through. Hopefully it lives up to the calibre of Insomniums back catalog. I have high hopes for this one! 🤘🤘
This band is a really weird case for me: I like them a whole lot and they’re fantastic songwriters, but I’ve only really listened to Above the Weeping World more than a few times (the same case for their Australian counterparts Be’lakor and their album Stone’s Reach). I need to get into the other albums more!
Just a truly fantastic band and one I have on heavy rotation in the car. I am partial to the track "Weighted Down with Sorrow" but they have never really disappointed. Great ranking.
Really enjoyable ranking video possibly one of my absolute favourites 😌 I totally agree they have a great quality of output. I simply can't wait to get to Friday so i can buy anno on cd & Vinyl
I am Not the biggest Insomnium fan (still I have not beard pre shadows albums) buuuuut Winters gate is one of the best metal records Ive ever heard. Absolute perfection.
As a Huge Insomnium fan, i can told you that Insomnium doesn't have a bad album. All of them are particular and have some kind of interesting song to listen. Lose to Night is my All time favorite song just because i love the mix with gutural and clean voices. But now for tier list: SG(GOD): Winter's Gate. S+: SoftS, One for Sorrow, Across the Dark S: Above the Weeping World, In the Halls of Awaiting A: Heart like a Grave, Since the Day it all came down
This is a band I’ve never really heard much about or listened to so I’ll have to go check them out! Thanks for the suggestion of Rollo Tomassi that new album was awesome!!! Great video!!!
Winters gate was the first one I listened to from start to finish . And it’s still probably my favourite. Such a good band. I still have to absorb the new one. But loving it so far. Good list MT
Love the review and rankings, new to your channel. I would switch One for Sorrow and In the Halls of Awaiting for Anno1696 and Heart Like a Grave for tier levels, but that is objective. Looking forward to other reviews!
I feel like you toned down the amount of comedy clips; consider me pleased! Much more enjoyable to listen, imo. Also: great ranking! I will be seeing them with Enslaved very soon; should be an amazing show!
Winter's Gate and One for Sorrow are my favorites. Both are nearly perfect. I also really like Argent Moon ep. Their first two albums don't do much for me as they have come much better. Shadows is good and the rest are really good.
I caught these guys open for (well it was more of a co-headliner) Enslaved up in Raleigh back on April 29th, and I was very impressed! Black Anvil played for about 30 min, and well I guess I'd say they sucked. But man, Insomnium had a great stage presence! I'd honestly say they put on as good of a show as Enslaved. The guy with the grey hair seemed to rock the hardest, and I really like the flying-V-propped-up-on-the-knee poses. I ended up getting Anno 1696 and am loving it. White Christ, Lilian and The Witch Hunter are the stand out tracks for me. Very simple catchy melodies. Reminds me a great deal of The Mist from the Mountains (also from Finnland, one of your reccomendations). Well worth catching live if you get the chance!
Looooove them, my second favorite melodic death metal band and one of my favorite bands in general.🤘🏻 Not a single bad album, not even an okay album. All great or masterpieces.😍 Heart Like A Grave is my favorite.👌🏻
I just realized Sakis Tolis and I have the same ESP/LTD guitar. I love Rotting Christ, but one thing that amuses me is how often they use word 'fire' or, to be a bit more phonetically accurate, 'Fyyyyyaaaaa!' Im just getting into Insomnium, and I have to say, their latest really does something for me. Could be my album of the month, which is high praise, given the amount of great stuff this month. 2023 has indeed started out strong. February is fresh on our minds, but in January alone we got -- Leiþa, ...And Oceans, Imperium Dekadenz, Katatonia, Ahab, Leper Colony, Obituary, Turbid North, Kohnerah, Tribunal, Fucked Up. All that's to say...I'm pumped for the rest of the year!
My Last Statement is one of the best climaxes ever. I still think Above the Weeping World might be my favorite! I met the guys on their Shadows of A. Dying Sun tour, they were super fuckin cool guys.
I currently am into One For Sorrow a lot but also listen to In the Halls of Awaiting almost as much. Big fan of Above the Weeping World and Since the Day it all Came Down but over-listened them recently. Heart Like a Grave has some really interesting solos and kind of reminds me of a sort of death metal Pink Floyd for some reason. While still really good, Shadows of the Dying Sun is my least listened too album. Winter's Gate I still have not bought for some reason and I need to. I have heard it before streaming and it's really good, but I need to check it out in depth. So that's kind of my order I guess. Can't wait to see them in April!
Since the Day it All Came Down is perfection to me, but agree that they don't have a bad album. I've seen them in concert two times and even planned a vacation in Orlando around seeing them...but that was spring of 2020 and we know how that went. They are playing Atlanta in late April with Enslaved and can't wait to see them again!
Great review, FoI! Insomnium is pretty much THE band that got me to love melodeath. I bought "Across the Dark" on a whim, not knowing what it was, or what I was in for. What an emotional ride. That album helped me get through some very dark, lonely days, it really takes you across the dark and all its shades, and what a banger that end track "Weighed Down With Sorrow"! Ive really enjoyed every album since, except "Winter's Gate", which by comparisson, I thought was absolute trash - the 1 song broken down into many segments thing to me absolutely did NOT work, and to me, its easily my least liked album of theirs. Cant wait to hear "Anno 1696", though!
insomnium is easily one of the most consistenly amazing bands out there. ill have to say though I'm in pretty much the opposite camp when it comes to winters gate here. that album left me pretty cold whereas the previous one introduced me to the band. i do really want to revisit their discography though, never really found my way back to them after winters gate dropped. above the weeping world is still a singular piece of emotionally potent music to me though, absolute masterpiece.
I find the debut album pretty unique in that it has Amorphis vibes to me as certain tracks have a folky vibe. The ending to the title track in particular reminds of that. Above The Weeping World will likely always be my #1 album from them as it was my starting place. I lucked out with that. Winter’s Gate is definitely #2 for as it’s an incredible composition.
If i would rank them probably all albums were on S Tier, but i have to say the “insomnium sound” we know really matured on One For Sorrow, and their peak is Winter’s Gate.
For me, One For Sorrow has always been my favorite Insomnium Album, there is just something about the amazing Melodies, captivating, melancholic atmosphere, and just overall outstanding songs, I find myself not even wanting to change a single thing about the album, which for me is the definition of a perfect album, which is why it’s not only my favorite Insomnium albums, but also one of my favorite albums in music altogether. However I still love the rest of their discography and I’m a boring person, because I don’t think they’ve done something worse than an A tier for me, which speaks volumes for such a band. If I had to rank them with four tiers though: S- One For Sorrow, ATWW, Winter‘s Gate A- Across The Dark, Shadows Of The Dying Sun B- Anno 1696, Heart Like A Grave, STDIACD C- In The Halls Of Awaiting
One For Sorrow was where they matured as the insomnium we know, absolutely phenomenal, S Tier album along with winter’s gate I would never ever get tired listening to it, specially the intro.
You nailed Since The Day It All Came Down. It’s the most up and down record for me as it has my favourite Insomnium song (Daughter Of The Moon) and my least favourite song (Moment Of Reckoning) on it. Across The Dark threw me for a loop because I was not ready for those clean vocals for this band. I much prefer what they did on One For Sorrow and the albums following that
I agree about heart like a grave title track and white christ. Those are the two songs I always skip 😂. Neverlast and valadiction and pale morning star are 3 of my favs! Insomnium seem to be getting softer and softer since 2019. 1st 4 albums are their best imo. Mainly due to line up. Ofs is really good except for production. Hopefully next album is fast and heavy and not so atmospheric to the point where not much is happening in comparison.
Pretty much every album is either red or orange tier for me. Pale Morning Star from Heart Like a Grave is an absolutely amazing composition. Anno at third tier is sad to see. Doesn’t surprise me though as none of the singles have really wowed me. Still probably my most anticipated album this year though because it’s fucking INSOMNIUM and they never miss 🤘🏻
Perfection: AtWW and ItHoA. Fantastic: Winter's Gate and StDiACD. Great: Across the Dark. Good: The other 3 with Shadows probably being at the top of those.
Insomnium is without a doubt one of my favorites in Melodeath Honestly all their albums I probably say are at least B tier so I’m just gonna go from my least favorite to Favorite. Excited for the new one 8 Across the Dark 7 Since the Day it all came down 6 Heart like a Grave 5 One for Sorrow 4 In the Halls of Awaiting 3 Shadows of the Dying Sun 2 Above the Weeping World 1 Winters Gate
Alright I’ve listened to the album a couple of times now. Love it. Solid 4 out of 5 stars. I’d put it confidently into the “fantastic” tier. I like it more than Heart Like a Grave. Best album since Winter’s Gate. Godforsaken would probably make it into my top 3 tracks by the band.
Insomnium is one of my favorite melodeath bands and are very consistent. I’m looking forward to Anno 1696 when it comes out, especially since one of the songs has Sakis Tolis from Rotting Christ on it. Here would be my ranking for Insomnium: S - Since the Day It All Came Down, Above the Weeping World, Shadows of the Dying Sun A - In the Halls of Awaiting, Across the Dark, One for Sorrow, Winter’s Gate B - Heart Like a Grave
They come to my city in april OMG and heart like a grave is a masterpiece, so underrated, pale morning star is my favorite song. Btw i agreed, the ending of the album is kinda weak because everything before is so good
It’s ironic because while I agree that shadows of a dying sun has definite hit and misses I rate them backwards I really enjoy Lose to Night while for me collapsing words misses the mark Weird
Will Insomnium ever release a bad album? They're currently my favorite band and I totally respect your opinion, but for me, none of their albuns are bellow the great tier.
1- Heart Like A Grave 2- shadows of the dying sun 3- argent moon ep. 4- Winters gate. Of all the singles from the new album White Christ in my fav song so far. The older albums the production sounds a little like u can hardly hear the bass and the sound is too dry for my taste
My personal favorite is Heart Like a Grave, which is an opinion I don't see shared that much, that album just hit me right and clicked like no other album of theirs. So many beautiful melodies and great atmosphere. For example I can't get that much into Above the Weeping World, at least not to the level of extreme love the album gets. I feel the band has been pretty much constantly improving over their career, and their early stuff is my least favorite. Although still I would not call any of their albums less than good. Excited to hear the new album, I haven't listened to any of the singles so eager to find out what they have in store this time.
Hot take: I absolutely love Above the Weeping World but everything post this album feels like they write the same 4 songs over and over and over again. I do enjoy their stuff quite a bit but way too many songs are just way too similar. same 4 chord progressions in the same key with the same tempo with similar styled melodies on top.
I really like One For Sorrow. But there's just something about its harsh production that's really bugging my ears. Which sadly makes me not wanna listen to it. At all.
Dude, I've been thinking the same. I remember buying it 6 years ago & thinking it's top 2 material, but now when I listen to Through the Shadows, I grit my teeth & wish it'd have Winter's Gate production.
Amazing band, even their weakest album for me is at the lowest a B tier 1. Above The Weeping World 2. Winters Gate 3. Heart Like A Grave 4. Shadows Of The Dying Sun 5. In The Halls Of Awaiting 6. Since The Day It All Came Down 7. One For Sorrow 8. Across The Dark
MORE Melodic Death Metal Rankings: ruclips.net/p/PLGt4fzX5jyuco8t7MdgU_rBfP0u4jfMWC
Winter's Gate is one of the best metal albums of the entire 2010's decade. I have never come away disappointed on a single revisit over the years.
I discovered this band a few months ago and I felt in love. The way that they mix the melodies with the heavy is amazing. By the way, congrats for your chanel, I don't speak so well in English and watching your videos are making me improve in english.
🤘🏻
No one mixes the melodies with the heavy better than Insomnium. I will stand by that statement until I die. Absolute experts at their craft.
@@hobojungle1 I totally agree, dude. It's pretty hard to get the balance between melodies and heavy, and they do do that very well.
One for sorrow needs to get more love. The lyrics , the growls, the energy and melancholy in every single song are nothing short of a masterpiece. This album speaks to the soul and is a 1000 times better than above the weeping world. Winter's Gate is the best trough.
Above the Weeping World is probably my favorite. The range of emotions this album evokes... *chef's kiss
Insomnium really doesn't have a bad album and I see that people have vastly different rankings. I personally love Shadows and Heart the most, but I totally get the Katatonia comparison.
My rankings change weekly for them lol
Last one was kinda boring.
@@MetalTrenches Shadows is one of their best, not worst!! Heart like a Grave is boring and I don't get the Katatonia reference unless you're picking their last 3 albums, which are dull, but they're a much different and better band IMO..
@@alexjurigo8393 ¿Heart like a grave or Anno 1696? Because one I think it's great and the other just came out 😅
@@alexjurigo8393 A year late, but I'll still ask: by last album so you mean Heart Like a Grave or Anno? If you mean the latter, I fully agree with you.
I don't envy your task in only having two masterpiece selections here. Insomnium are next level.
I mean "Shadow Of The Dying Sun" in good tier says it all about these guys. Brilliant album
I'm excited to hear this new one and I have to agree, there is not one bad Insomnium album. They are the most consistent band in melodic death metal no doubt.
So good.
Winter's Gate is one of the best metal albums of all time
Here in Finland we are very proud of Insomnium and their world wide success. I think their best records are easily Heart Like a Grave and the previous Argent Moon ep. Can't wait to see them live again 🩵🙏🇫🇮
As Croatia i can confirm that. Meet few people from Finland who are not even metalheads and they whete so proud when i told Insomnium, Amorphos and Falconer are among my favourite bands ever
I lived in Lieksa for 6 months, Koli (where Heart like a grave was shot) was literally a pilgrimage location for me 😂 Also i wore an insomnium hoodie on the day i entered Finland, and i got a lot cheers from finns, was great 😁
"Winter's Gate" is a masterpiece IMO and my #1 as well. I am looking forward to seeing them live and the new album. I have had the same experience as you with "Shadows" and the debut (both going in opposite directions!)
That album just knocked my socks off when it came out
@@MetalTrenches I am still blown away by it! 👍
All parts are amazing in their own way
I love Winter's Gate more than I love my wife 😄
I've started really getting into Insomnium this year, although I've always had a lot of respect for them and I really enjoyed Winter's Gate when it came out. Like you say ranking each of their albums is hard as they have one of the most solid discographies of any modern metal band.
One thing not mentioned in this video that I feel is worthy of note is the addition of guitarist Jani Liimatainen (formerly of Sonata Arctica) since Heart Like A Grave, which I feel has helped to give the newer albums a bit of a folky/symphonic texture to them. You can really hear that on a lot of tracks on Anno 1696, I've been enjoying it loads and it might end up in my top 3 favourite Insomnium albums next to Winter's Gate and Above The Weeping World.
Oh yeah, and long-time guitarist/clean vocalist Dr Villa Friman is a research associate in evolutionary ecology!
9. Across The Dark
8. One for Sorrow
7. In the Halls of Awaiting
6. Anno 1696
5. Since the Day it All Came Down
4. Shadows of the Dying Sun
3. Heart Like a Grave
2. Above The Weeping World
1. Winter's Gate
I've been an Insomnium fan since I got a promo copy of In the Halls of Awaiting nearly 20 years ago. Insomium are my favorite band but our rankings differ drastically. Shadows was a fucking masterpiece that heavily relies on the ebb and flow of the track placement. The increase in production value starting with Across the Dark really opened up the bands sound with a much richer and deeper sonic landscape that was lacking in the first three albums. I would also include Under the Moonlit Waves and Argent Moon in my rankings too. Argent Moon encapsulates all the best parts of Insomnium in essentially four ballads. BALLADS. The melancholy just oozes and drips from it.
Winters Gates is masterfully written, though a 42 minutes, I find I tend to loose attention and it's tough to pick up again if you stop mid way through.
One for Sorrow left a huge mark on me just for the slow, melancholic entrance of Inertia bleeds into and gives way to Through the Shadows and the bombastic stylings of Blackest Bird. It just hooks you and pulls you into to the world the band created.
Heart Like A Grave falls a bit lower for me, with fewer stand out tracks and I almost feel like removing some of the "filler" and replacing those tracks with the Argent Moon tracks would have produced a far far superior album.
While I love the first three albums, they are in all honesty the ones I revisit the least, opting rather to listen to more of a greatest hits style of playlist from them.
All in all however, there is not a weak album (or EP) to Insomniums name and as was stated in the video it only fractional degrees of differences. They may very well be the first and only band to claim all their albums could be top tier.
Anno 1696 literally just showed up in the mail this morning so I don't have an opinion on it yet. I have avoided the singles and reviews intentionally as to not bias or impact my first listen through. Hopefully it lives up to the calibre of Insomniums back catalog. I have high hopes for this one! 🤘🤘
Honestly my thoughts vary by day. It’s all very good
Winter's Gate will always be one of my favorite albums of all time and deserves its praises.
This band is a really weird case for me: I like them a whole lot and they’re fantastic songwriters, but I’ve only really listened to Above the Weeping World more than a few times (the same case for their Australian counterparts Be’lakor and their album Stone’s Reach). I need to get into the other albums more!
No time like the present
Just a truly fantastic band and one I have on heavy rotation in the car. I am partial to the track "Weighted Down with Sorrow" but they have never really disappointed. Great ranking.
\m/
Really enjoyable ranking video possibly one of my absolute favourites 😌 I totally agree they have a great quality of output. I simply can't wait to get to Friday so i can buy anno on cd & Vinyl
Enjoy and share your thoughts when you get it
I am Not the biggest Insomnium fan (still I have not beard pre shadows albums) buuuuut Winters gate is one of the best metal records Ive ever heard. Absolute perfection.
As a Huge Insomnium fan, i can told you that Insomnium doesn't have a bad album. All of them are particular and have some kind of interesting song to listen.
Lose to Night is my All time favorite song just because i love the mix with gutural and clean voices.
But now for tier list:
SG(GOD): Winter's Gate.
S+: SoftS, One for Sorrow, Across the Dark
S: Above the Weeping World, In the Halls of Awaiting
A: Heart like a Grave, Since the Day it all came down
One of my favourite bands ever, love every album! Glad to be from the same city as the band😁
I've always wanted to visit
@@MetalTrenches would recommend!
This is a band I’ve never really heard much about or listened to so I’ll have to go check them out! Thanks for the suggestion of Rollo Tomassi that new album was awesome!!! Great video!!!
Winters gate was the first one I listened to from start to finish . And it’s still probably my favourite. Such a good band.
I still have to absorb the new one. But loving it so far. Good list MT
Almost cried listening to One for sorrow at work last year
Love the review and rankings, new to your channel. I would switch One for Sorrow and In the Halls of Awaiting for Anno1696 and Heart Like a Grave for tier levels, but that is objective. Looking forward to other reviews!
Thanks
I feel like you toned down the amount of comedy clips; consider me pleased! Much more enjoyable to listen, imo.
Also: great ranking! I will be seeing them with Enslaved very soon; should be an amazing show!
They didn't fit as much here so I wasn't going to shoehorn them in
Winter's Gate and One for Sorrow are my favorites. Both are nearly perfect. I also really like Argent Moon ep. Their first two albums don't do much for me as they have come much better. Shadows is good and the rest are really good.
Exactly the same, my 2 all time favorite records from them.
To me their most beautiful song is shades of deep green my god. Thanks for the video i ll go check out their other albums because i only know one.
DO EET!
I caught these guys open for (well it was more of a co-headliner) Enslaved up in Raleigh back on April 29th, and I was very impressed! Black Anvil played for about 30 min, and well I guess I'd say they sucked. But man, Insomnium had a great stage presence! I'd honestly say they put on as good of a show as Enslaved. The guy with the grey hair seemed to rock the hardest, and I really like the flying-V-propped-up-on-the-knee poses. I ended up getting Anno 1696 and am loving it. White Christ, Lilian and The Witch Hunter are the stand out tracks for me. Very simple catchy melodies. Reminds me a great deal of The Mist from the Mountains (also from Finnland, one of your reccomendations). Well worth catching live if you get the chance!
Looooove them, my second favorite melodic death metal band and one of my favorite bands in general.🤘🏻 Not a single bad album, not even an okay album. All great or masterpieces.😍 Heart Like A Grave is my favorite.👌🏻
Time for an Insomnium deep dive! I've only heard One For Sorrow front to back and liked it a lot, nice to know it gets better!
Enjoy!
I just realized Sakis Tolis and I have the same ESP/LTD guitar. I love Rotting Christ, but one thing that amuses me is how often they use word 'fire' or, to be a bit more phonetically accurate, 'Fyyyyyaaaaa!' Im just getting into Insomnium, and I have to say, their latest really does something for me. Could be my album of the month, which is high praise, given the amount of great stuff this month. 2023 has indeed started out strong. February is fresh on our minds, but in January alone we got -- Leiþa, ...And Oceans, Imperium Dekadenz, Katatonia, Ahab, Leper Colony, Obituary, Turbid North, Kohnerah, Tribunal, Fucked Up. All that's to say...I'm pumped for the rest of the year!
My Last Statement is one of the best climaxes ever. I still think Above the Weeping World might be my favorite! I met the guys on their Shadows of A. Dying Sun tour, they were super fuckin cool guys.
I currently am into One For Sorrow a lot but also listen to In the Halls of Awaiting almost as much.
Big fan of Above the Weeping World and Since the Day it all Came Down but over-listened them recently.
Heart Like a Grave has some really interesting solos and kind of reminds me of a sort of death metal Pink Floyd for some reason.
While still really good, Shadows of the Dying Sun is my least listened too album.
Winter's Gate I still have not bought for some reason and I need to. I have heard it before streaming and it's really good, but I need to check it out in depth.
So that's kind of my order I guess.
Can't wait to see them in April!
I am hoping to potentially catch that tour as well.
Since the Day it All Came Down is perfection to me, but agree that they don't have a bad album. I've seen them in concert two times and even planned a vacation in Orlando around seeing them...but that was spring of 2020 and we know how that went. They are playing Atlanta in late April with Enslaved and can't wait to see them again!
Great review, FoI! Insomnium is pretty much THE band that got me to love melodeath. I bought "Across the Dark" on a whim, not knowing what it was, or what I was in for. What an emotional ride. That album helped me get through some very dark, lonely days, it really takes you across the dark and all its shades, and what a banger that end track "Weighed Down With Sorrow"! Ive really enjoyed every album since, except "Winter's Gate", which by comparisson, I thought was absolute trash - the 1 song broken down into many segments thing to me absolutely did NOT work, and to me, its easily my least liked album of theirs. Cant wait to hear "Anno 1696", though!
My #1 is "Above The Weeping World". I never actually gave "Winters Gate", but I love every other album by them.
insomnium is easily one of the most consistenly amazing bands out there. ill have to say though I'm in pretty much the opposite camp when it comes to winters gate here. that album left me pretty cold whereas the previous one introduced me to the band. i do really want to revisit their discography though, never really found my way back to them after winters gate dropped. above the weeping world is still a singular piece of emotionally potent music to me though, absolute masterpiece.
I find the debut album pretty unique in that it has Amorphis vibes to me as certain tracks have a folky vibe. The ending to the title track in particular reminds of that. Above The Weeping World will likely always be my #1 album from them as it was my starting place. I lucked out with that. Winter’s Gate is definitely #2 for as it’s an incredible composition.
If i would rank them probably all albums were on S Tier, but i have to say the “insomnium sound” we know really matured on One For Sorrow, and their peak is Winter’s Gate.
Across the dark is my favorite older album from them! But I got into them by the Album Shadows of the Dying Sun.
On my personal ranking One for sorrow and Heart like grave go to perfection, all other albums to fantastic.
For me, One For Sorrow has always been my favorite Insomnium Album, there is just something about the amazing Melodies, captivating, melancholic atmosphere, and just overall outstanding songs, I find myself not even wanting to change a single thing about the album, which for me is the definition of a perfect album, which is why it’s not only my favorite Insomnium albums, but also one of my favorite albums in music altogether. However I still love the rest of their discography and I’m a boring person, because I don’t think they’ve done something worse than an A tier for me, which speaks volumes for such a band. If I had to rank them with four tiers though:
S- One For Sorrow, ATWW, Winter‘s Gate
A- Across The Dark, Shadows Of The Dying Sun
B- Anno 1696, Heart Like A Grave, STDIACD
C- In The Halls Of Awaiting
Yeah they have no bad albums and the rankings could really change by the day
One For Sorrow was where they matured as the insomnium we know, absolutely phenomenal, S Tier album along with winter’s gate I would never ever get tired listening to it, specially the intro.
@@ThatShitGood dude the transition of Inertia into the opening riff of Through The Shadow always gives me goosebumps!
I just discovered this band and I love their sound.
Norther would be nice too to review
Easily one of my favorite bands. Helped introduce me to Marians Rest and a great album called Fata Morgana!
You nailed Since The Day It All Came Down. It’s the most up and down record for me as it has my favourite Insomnium song (Daughter Of The Moon) and my least favourite song (Moment Of Reckoning) on it. Across The Dark threw me for a loop because I was not ready for those clean vocals for this band. I much prefer what they did on One For Sorrow and the albums following that
I agree about heart like a grave title track and white christ. Those are the two songs I always skip 😂. Neverlast and valadiction and pale morning star are 3 of my favs! Insomnium seem to be getting softer and softer since 2019. 1st 4 albums are their best imo. Mainly due to line up. Ofs is really good except for production. Hopefully next album is fast and heavy and not so atmospheric to the point where not much is happening in comparison.
Winter's Gate is a significant not just in Insomnium's discography, but also historically.
Heart like a grave was 2019? Holy shit it's still new in my mind haha. Halls and Winters Gate are my favourites for sure.
Just finished winters gate. I am beyond impressed. 😍🤘👌
🤘🏻
Pretty much every album is either red or orange tier for me. Pale Morning Star from Heart Like a Grave is an absolutely amazing composition. Anno at third tier is sad to see. Doesn’t surprise me though as none of the singles have really wowed me. Still probably my most anticipated album this year though because it’s fucking INSOMNIUM and they never miss 🤘🏻
Such an outstanding discography. Heart Like a Grave is my Perfection tie.
Perfection: AtWW and ItHoA. Fantastic: Winter's Gate and StDiACD. Great: Across the Dark. Good: The other 3 with Shadows probably being at the top of those.
Insomnium is without a doubt one of my favorites in Melodeath
Honestly all their albums I probably say are at least B tier so I’m just gonna go from my least favorite to Favorite. Excited for the new one
8 Across the Dark
7 Since the Day it all came down
6 Heart like a Grave
5 One for Sorrow
4 In the Halls of Awaiting
3 Shadows of the Dying Sun
2 Above the Weeping World
1 Winters Gate
Took me too long to get into them but I'm glad that I did
Alright I’ve listened to the album a couple of times now. Love it. Solid 4 out of 5 stars. I’d put it confidently into the “fantastic” tier. I like it more than Heart Like a Grave. Best album since Winter’s Gate. Godforsaken would probably make it into my top 3 tracks by the band.
Insomnium is one of my favorite melodeath bands and are very consistent. I’m looking forward to Anno 1696 when it comes out, especially since one of the songs has Sakis Tolis from Rotting Christ on it. Here would be my ranking for Insomnium:
S - Since the Day It All Came Down, Above the Weeping World, Shadows of the Dying Sun
A - In the Halls of Awaiting, Across the Dark, One for Sorrow, Winter’s Gate
B - Heart Like a Grave
\m/
Fuckin love this band. Lyrics hit me right in the feels
2:46 Mortal Shore?
They come to my city in april OMG and heart like a grave is a masterpiece, so underrated, pale morning star is my favorite song. Btw i agreed, the ending of the album is kinda weak because everything before is so good
Hello! Igot vinyl all Insomnium albums. New one ordered White vinyl. On Recordshop x best albums is Above the Weeping World..( nice red vinyl) maybe..
Mad jelly. Even the CD's are kind of pricey to grab now. I wish I had gotten that 'The Candlelight Years' set when it came out
Ps I know it’s an EP but I love argent moon too. Great atuff
It’s ironic because while I agree that shadows of a dying sun has definite hit and misses I rate them backwards I really enjoy Lose to Night while for me collapsing words misses the mark
Weird
Will Insomnium ever release a bad album? They're currently my favorite band and I totally respect your opinion, but for me, none of their albuns are bellow the great tier.
Seems almost impossible at this point
Shadows is 11/10, one of my favourite albums of all time.
Winter's Gate is overrated... There, I said it!
Different strokes for different folks!
1- Heart Like A Grave
2- shadows of the dying sun
3- argent moon ep.
4- Winters gate.
Of all the singles from the new album White Christ in my fav song so far. The older albums the production sounds a little like u can hardly hear the bass and the sound is too dry for my taste
Mmmmm I’m gonna check these guys out
You won’t regret it
My personal favorite is Heart Like a Grave, which is an opinion I don't see shared that much, that album just hit me right and clicked like no other album of theirs. So many beautiful melodies and great atmosphere. For example I can't get that much into Above the Weeping World, at least not to the level of extreme love the album gets. I feel the band has been pretty much constantly improving over their career, and their early stuff is my least favorite. Although still I would not call any of their albums less than good. Excited to hear the new album, I haven't listened to any of the singles so eager to find out what they have in store this time.
my favorite is Above the weeping world but HlaG is easily my 2nd fav.
We like what we like.
Hot take: I absolutely love Above the Weeping World but everything post this album feels like they write the same 4 songs over and over and over again. I do enjoy their stuff quite a bit but way too many songs are just way too similar. same 4 chord progressions in the same key with the same tempo with similar styled melodies on top.
Praising any part of Insomnium should never be a hot take.
I really like One For Sorrow. But there's just something about its harsh production that's really bugging my ears. Which sadly makes me not wanna listen to it. At all.
Dude, I've been thinking the same. I remember buying it 6 years ago & thinking it's top 2 material, but now when I listen to Through the Shadows, I grit my teeth & wish it'd have Winter's Gate production.
Shadows is literally the best album
To you.
@@MetalTrenches generally
Amazing band, even their weakest album for me is at the lowest a B tier
1. Above The Weeping World
2. Winters Gate
3. Heart Like A Grave
4. Shadows Of The Dying Sun
5. In The Halls Of Awaiting
6. Since The Day It All Came Down
7. One For Sorrow
8. Across The Dark
One of the harder rankings on the channel by far
Weird you have to put it’s better than Foregone in the title lol cringy
SEO is a thing, and it got you engaging, didn't it? For the record, Foregone was decent.
@@MetalTrenches lol I guess so, you right. I didn’t mean to sound salty or anything, I dig your videos! 🤘🔥
Yo. How'd you get yours before I got mine???? 😂🥲😐😢😭
I get stuff a few weeks early. Common practice.