Insomnium - One For Sorrow
Century Media
Melodic Death Metal
11 songs (58:01)
Release year: 2011
Insomnium, Century Media
Reviewed by Khelek

Insomnium have been around for quite some time now, this being their 5th album since their first in 2002. In that time they have managed to create melodic death metal that is dark and melancholy, yet still heavy and energetic enough to be easy to get into. One For Sorrow does not see the band deviating much from their formula, but once again they have crafted an album that stays very listenable from beginning to end.

The album starts off with the slow melancholy of the mostly instrumental track Inertia, which blends seamlessly into the next song, Through The Shadows. It has the same feeling as Where The Last Wave Broke, although it's a bit less epic and I don't find the clean singing of Ville Friman to fit as well. Nevertheless the guitar riffs are heavy and powerful, and it's a song that makes you want to listen to it again. The guitar riffs throughout the album are the usual heavy, powerful things that Insomnium have always excelled at. However, despite the massiveness, they do not necessarily move slowly as some bands of this doomier persuasion tend to do. Take Song Of The Blackest Bird for example. It's very heavy and certainly melancholy most of the time, yet it keeps flowing the entire time, never becoming too repetitive for its own good. In good melodeath form, many of the songs start out with solid energy despite this being a very dark album. Their music has always reminded me somewhat of In Flames’ work on Clayman, another album that has equal shares of melancholy and melody/heaviness. The guitar soloing is also energetic and memorable, especially on faster songs like Only One Who Waits. Regain The Fire has good melodies, and the clean vocals in the chorus I think add more to the song here than on Through The Shadows. There are a few times when the music can get a tad bit monotonous, especially on the longer songs such as Lay The Ghost To Rest and the title track, but not to such an extent that it makes those songs bad.

All in all there's not much more to say about this album. As you may have noticed by now, this album is quite similar to Insomnium's past work, though I don't think fans would want or expect anything different. I am quite impressed at the consistency of their sound and the ability of these guys to continue to write excellent music within the mold they have made for themselves. Their music has that unique blend of melancholy and energy that makes me want to keep coming back for more (this is after I've heard it at least 9-10 times). Once again another great album has been added to their growing catalog.

Killing Songs :
Song Of The Blackest Bird, Only One Who Waits, Regain The Fire
Khelek quoted 86 / 100
Other albums by Insomnium that we have reviewed:
Insomnium - Anno 1696 reviewed by Goat and quoted 85 / 100
Insomnium - Heart Like a Grave reviewed by Goat and quoted 80 / 100
Insomnium - Winter's Gate reviewed by Goat and quoted 85 / 100
Insomnium - Across the Dark reviewed by Dan and quoted 87 / 100
Insomnium - Above the Weeping World reviewed by Alex and quoted 90 / 100
To see all 8 reviews click here
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