Metalcatto
It’s the first time I’ve taken this long to finish a top list. My bad! I went on vacation and completely lost track of time. But here we are, ready to finish this Sisyphean task once and for all and discover the best that Insomnium has to offer this sad, cold world. Depression? Let’s freaking go!
5. In the Halls of Awaiting: The band’s debut. It’s hard to do a better job of establishing a sound. Everything that Insomnium is and would later become was already foreshadowed here. It was simply done in a more unpolished, lower-budget, and less skillful way. Yet all the brilliant and sorrowful ideas are already present. The album doesn’t beat around the bush. It shows you that these guys can take you to the coldest night and still bring you back in tears.
4. One for Sorrow: This was the first Insomnium album I ever got into, which is why it holds a special place in my dark heart. It’s absolutely soul-crushing. Even the softer tracks are sadder than giving your cat away. Yet the album’s real strength lies in its tight, efficient, and poignant songwriting. It’s less mellow than Across the Dark, but less depressing than Under the Weeping Moon. It’s the perfect middle ground between the band’s harsher and softer sides.
3. Since the Day It All Came Down: “Daughter of the Moon”!! Do I need to say more? Fine. This was the album that showed us Insomnium wasn’t just another sadboi Finnish band. The songwriting is beautiful, painful, and so far ahead of its time. Whatever In the Halls of Awaiting was going for, this album did it all bigger, stronger, and faster. It was also the record that showed us Insomnium had genuine lyrical talent. There are truly poetic lines here that I still come back to every now and then.
2. Under the Weeping Moon: It was a tough call to put this one here. Under the Weeping Moon is incredibly depressing, but also more aggressive than any other Insomnium album. We’re subjected to the most tragic assault imaginable throughout this record. I can’t pick just one track because the whole album is packed with bangers. Some of the best songs the band has ever written are here. For years, Insomnium had this album to beat, and the task seemed impossible. How do you top the perfect balance between pain and rage? Well, you go big or go home…
1. Winter’s Gate: By now, it should be obvious that Insomnium has a thing for the weather. Naturally, the top spot had to go to their most epic, grandiose, and conceptually ambitious album. In true Dan Swanö fashion, we get one single 40+ minute track about Vikings lost at sea. I had the privilege of seeing them perform this monstrosity live. I’ll never forget it! Ever since, Winter’s Gate has been an almost impossible benchmark to surpass. It’s the true pinnacle of the band’s creativity, songwriting, and emotional depth. There might never be another Winter’s Gate, but we can be happy it happened at all.
