Insomnium – Songs Of The Dusk [EP]
Reviewed By: Georgina Strilakos
Review Score: 8.5
Insomnium are a band with focus on creating music that sets the bar higher when it comes to melodic death metal. The Finnish band have established themselves as one of the most notable names on the scene, continuing to dish out masterpieces, which includes their ninth full-length, Anno 1696. The band’s brand new EP, Songs Of The Dusk, could be seen as a kind of tangent and an addendum to the album, especially because these three songs have an affinity with the group’s creative direction on Anno 1696.
It’s almost as if Insominum took the opportunity to load this short, diverse EP with some of the ideas they wanted to pursue on the their last full-length album, but didn’t get the chance to do so for the sake of album continuity. The EP seems incredibly free of shackles, and it allows the band to branch out and explore different ideas. Point in case, the EP only features three songs, but it’s actually over twenty minutes of music, a sign that the group actually took the opportunity to really indulge their broad creative range.
The title track itself, ‘Song Of The Dusk’, kicks off with a mesmerizing ambient introduction, which gradually fades into a massive wall of guitars. The mid-tempo of the intro has a incredibly dense melodic build-up, and the song later delves into one of the band’s most ambitious and massive arrangements to date. This track alone is a great example of the sheer variety that makes this work so special. At about five minutes and twenty seconds in, there’s a complete change of texture and vibe, with an atmospheric instrumental segment for the extended song bridge.
The three songs on display are the perfect combination of melody, aggression, ambient and grandeur, challenging the tropes of melodic death metal, but staying true to its archetypes.
Songs Of The Dusk is out November 3rd via Century Media Records.