Insomnium – One For Sorrow

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Insomnium have slowly established themselves as a key figure in the melodic death metal scene, mostly because the band’s version of the genre – influenced heavily by doom metal – feels very different from the mainstream variants of the melodeath sound. Insomnium are something distinctly different, so whilst there are plenty of common elements between them and more established acts, their appeal certainly isn’t the same. Their focus is on melodies that feel bleak and depressing, but in a strange way also feel rather uplifting. One For Sorrow does not break from this mould, in fact it doesn’t really change much from what we know of Insomnium at all. This isn’t a bad thing per se, but anyone expecting a more distinct development of the band’s style are in for some disappointment. The band’s moodiness is still very much intact, as are the very strong melody lines intrinsic to the band’s sound. One For Sorrow has some excellent additions to the band’s repertoire (Song of The Blackest Birds and lead single Through The Shadows standing out), and for all intents and purposes it stands well as another Insomnium album. There are some slow elements (like beautiful instrumental Decoherence) and some moments of clean vocals (such as the latter part of Lay The Ghost to Rest), but they don’t feel like they are breaking from the sound too much. It is still consistently the same mood that we expect from the band. That’s good – it is a good formula that not many other acts are utilizing within this genre. It would be nice to see them develop their sound a bit further though, as the same mood may get stale if simply repeated album after album.

Written by James Donovan
More: 2011, Albums, Death Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, Insomnium