Suffering so you don't have to!
Metalcatto
Somehow, Insomnium became one of, if not the biggest Finnish Melodic Death Metal band in town. Not an easy task, considering there are more metal bands in Finland than smiles. So here we are, celebrating one of the most consistent acts in the scene. We’ll review their lows and highs. Get your tissues ready and release the sad puppy living inside each and every one of us.
Metalcatto
Insomnium has had a career with ups and downs, yet is one of the few bands with two peaks (Above the Weeping Moon and Winter’s Gate). Consistency has been enormous for this band. They have managed to make MeloDeath interesting every single time a new release comes around. Netherworlds has a significant challenge ahead, but let’s see. Full disclosure: Insomnium is my wife’s favorite band, so I’m doing this review at gunpoint. Help!
Metalcatto
I’m usually not reviewing old school bands like Cardinals Folly, but when you show up with an album named Let The Posers Fall!, the snob side of me gets curious and wonders if the music really honors the cocky attitude. It’s Finnish Doom, so it should deliver something I hoped for, but enough going around—let’s find out if the album honors the country’s long tradition in the genre.
Metalcatto
Usually, when I hear Finland and Black Metal, I tremble. Not because the music is bad, but because the scene is a PR nightmare. I don’t have the time or staff to stalk every band on social media. However, Flame is a band I’ve never heard of, and I was a bit puzzled by the promo. Needless to say, a title like Ignis Draconis Daemonicus is over the top enough to catch my attention. Anyway, we’re ready.
Vicky
Is this the last album I’m late with? Probably not. But is it at least worthy of a review? Absolutely. It reminded me that Prog Metal can also be mellow, without too many jazzy additions (as in, saxophone solo, overuse of keyboards, and others). Don’t get me wrong, those are pleasant too, but sometimes, the bands who appreciate them tend to forget that the point of prog metal is… metal, actually.
Vicky
Back when I was younger, there was this saying that went something like this: there are things out there that you won’t understand, so try to stay away from them. Had that honestly been the case, I probably shouldn’t/wouldn’t have listened to this album, that I can barely pronounce without summoning evil spirits, let alone review without looking astonished behind my laptop (since you cannot see me, take my word for it, would you?).
Metalcatto
There are very few things as reliable and comfortable as Finnish Melodic Death Metal. You always get exactly what you’re expecting. Obscure Fate brings us an album with a name that again promises consistency: Shades of a Dying World. The only real question is whether this will be genuinely melodic or fall into Arch Enemy-level corny territory. Either way, those guitars will shine. Let’s see.
Metalcatto
Finland has given us excellent Metal in almost every subgenre. However, have you ever heard of Finnish Grindcore? Chances are you haven’t, which is why veterans Rotten Sound’s Mass Extinction caught my attention. I ended up wondering if those sauna addicts could be good at this, too. I mean, look at that artwork! It’s super promising! It makes me feel like I’m going to start an epic and dramatic journey. Could that be true? Am I imagining things?
Metalcatto
Full disclosure: I’m a longtime fan of Omnium Gatherum. I’ve been following them since The Redshift and still consider New World Shadows and Beyond to be Melodic Death Metal classics. (If you haven’t listened to them yet, stop wasting your time and go fix that.) So when May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way dropped, I was all in. That said, I’m not blind to the band’s controversies — It’s always been compared, sometimes unfairly, to its peers. With OG, you never really know what you’re going to get: a genre-defining masterpiece or a divisive curveball. Either way, it’s never boring.
Vicky
Doom Metal as a whole is one of the most niche genres out there. It has a little something for everyone, and without a doubt, we all once found ourselves in a Doom Metal song – ranging from slightly less depressive (Candlemass deserves credit for coming up with “please let me die in solitude”), all the way to the even more mournful part (think of this: Swallow The Sun once sang “My old friend will you lay me back to rest? I’ve been suffering so long without you. Come and take me away from this pain”. If that doesn’t scream out Metal Dostoevsky, I don’t know what will).
