Insomnium - One For Sorrow

Insomnium - One For Sorrow 01. Inertia 02. Through The Shadows 03. Song Of The Blackest Bird 04. Only One Who Waits 05. Unsung 06. Every Hour Wounds 07. Decoherence 08. Lay The Ghost To Rest 09. Regain The Fire 10. One For Sorrow 11. Weather The Storm [special edition bonus] If I were to ask you what makes a great Metal band, the answer should be pretty much the same across the board: great albums. In truth, a series of great albums that follow the same structure yet manage to be different enough to be individual works while being similar enough to create a unique trademark sound. Do you see now how fine of a margin bands have to operate? Finland's Insomnium have established themselves as a juggernaut of Gothenburg Metal with a trilogy of sublime releases 2002's In The Halls Of Awaiting, 2004's Since The Day It All Came Down & 2006's Above The Weeping World. Then they managed to cleverly modernize their sound with 2009's Across The Dark. With a growing fan base and so many solid works behind them, their new release One For Sorrow has been one of the most anticipated albums of the year, and for good reasons. Once more the homogeneity of this offering is its greatest upside. It is like Ville Friman and Niilo Sevänen came up with twice too many great songs and just rammed the best of them on a fast-paced, ass-kicking, modern monument of a melodic Death metal album. The intro builds up the atmosphere perfectly and the following tracks never let go of this canalized energy. Without reinventing their sound, Insomnium manage to bring enough new perspective to enthrall listeners through a seemingly everlasting journey into awesomeness. Growls dominate the vocal registry. Nevertheless, clean vocals are featured on some of the tracks, sometimes pushing as far as giving a pop vibe to choruses on songs such as "Through The Shadows" and "Regain The Fire". The naysayers will point out the same song structures, same album structure and the same atmosphere as on Across The Dark. And it would be hard to refute them. But beauty is in the details and the musicians are throwing a lot of those at you over the course of a single song. And that is why Insomnium swim at the top of their musical field. The question remains whether you find what makes this album different from its precursor or not. I know I have. Whether you are familiar with their previous albums or not is a moot point. There is enough on One For Sorrow to please fans and newcomers alike.