Insomnium

On this, their second full-length, Insomnium have brewed a virile concoction of Nordic death metal, spiced judiciously with acoustic interludes and folklore-ish wanderings. Ferocious speed works its way in amongst slow-paced brutality, either supporting or moving toward a superstructure of melodic leads. The softer passages of Since the Day It All Came Down seep a melancholic miasma, but the music’s continual movement forward leaves no room for anaemic listlessness. It’s all very tight, each strand knit together in a pattern with no loose ends. Insomnium’s genre-bending approaches Opeth more than Amorphis this time around (especially on instrumental "Resonance”), but the basic ingredient here, as on the last, is unyielding melodic death metal — a flavour that remains strong all the way through. Consistently more ambitious songwriting makes it hard to pick out favoured tracks, but even without the draw of individual songs Since the Day It All Came Down demonstrates that Insomnium are maturing into a powerful force.