Insomnium: One For Sorrow

Insomnium is one of my favourite melodic death metal bands of all time and I was absolutely stoked to listen to their fifth album entitled One For Sorrow

The album opener, "Inertia" sets the tone and mood for the album. The intro notes caress you and take you to a scandinavian forest before the drums and rhythm guitars kick in with Niilo's spoken vocal section. This song is everything a melodic death metal song should be and more. The rest of this song is instrumental and it is easily one of the better album opener's I have heard this year. It builds up to 'Through the Shadows' which is the first single from the album. This song has the perfect balance between melodic sections and pure death metal for me. The vocals are definitely a little more mellow here. The intro riff is very catchy and it makes its presence felt throughout the song. Another thing that must be said about this album is the mix. I absolutely love it. There are so many recent albums that have great songs but lose out in the mix. One For Sorrow is not one of them.

"Song of The Blackest Bird" is up next and just like the song name, it has a very Amon Amarth feel to it in the first section. This song could have easily opened this album. Vanni and Friman's twin axe attack in this song really shines and they just prove to the metal world how they take a quality over quantity approach to leads. The song ends with a beautiful acoustic outro that will no doubt have the lighters in the air at a live show. "Only One Who Waits" is the first of a few really brutal songs on this album. The Iced Earth-esque riffing on this song drives it through the melodic sections while it still kicks you in the throat throughout. One would hope that the entire album was as brutal as this song but the best part is while the songs are eclectic, the atmosphere is constant throughout. The final section of this song is your typical melodic section with growls thrown in. Unsung is a piece of art. Insomnium keep surprising me with songs like this. The clean guitar work on this song is brilliant and as with the other songs Markus Hirvonen's drums drive this machine forward. "Decoherence" is a goosebump inducing acoustic instrumental that has a grand atmosphere throughout. My only gripe with this song is that it is too short.

"Regain the Fire" has some amazing clean vocals but the rest of the song is really weak. "Lay the Ghost to Rest" starts off brilliantly but is let down musically towards the middle with nothing memorable.

I usually look forward to listening to title tracks of albums the most. This one did not disappoint at all. The title track showcases the band's musical prowess and it is one hell of an album closer.

Overall One For Sorrow is easily Insomnium's most hybrid and dynamic album thus far. Think Omnium Gatherium. Some may think that the band is trying to accomplish too many things at once with this but they succeed with a cracker of an effort here. I would trim the fat and delete the aforementioned weak songs to make this a near perfect release from the Finnish metallers. Barring those two letdowns, this album is highly recommended.

Track Listing
1. Inertia (3:43)
2. Through the Shadows (4:31)
3. Song of the Blackest Bird (7:29) 4. Only One Who Waits (5:17)
5. Unsung (5:04)
6. Every Hour Wounds (5:25)
7. Decoherence (3:18)
8. Lay the Ghost to Rest (7:46)
9. Regain the Fire (4:27)
10.One for Sorrow (6:07)

Added: September 26th 2011
Reviewer: Mikhail Madnani
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 3837
Language: english

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