Amorphis and Insomnium

Standing imposingly on stage, dressed head to toe in black with tattoos covering every available surface of their bodies and the lead singer’s dreads being whipped around so ferociously and at such a fast pace I was scared his head was about to fall off… it’s safe to say I was a little intimidated of Amorphis. This six piece band are no laughing matter: six giant blokes with hair longer than mine and voices so low and powerful that they barely seemed real. However, they were real. Real good. Heavy metal fans proceed. All others, proceed with caution. Encompassing several genres, from death to folk metal, I had never heard anything the likes of this band before. Their unique folk twist, derived from Finnish folk stories and legends, added another dimension to the heavy metal. The lyrics were often terrifying and aggressive yet oddly captivating: the band often use the Kalevala, the Epic Poem of their home country Finland, as source material for their lyrics. Amorphis played a number of heavy metal hits, but the stand out tunes were ‘Better Unborn’ which possessed an almost middle eastern tune at the beginning, and ‘Silent Waters’ which had the entire crowd screaming along for more.

Insomnium is a band that just doesn’t seem to slow down. Amazingly this Finnish death-metal band has once again provided us with their melodic awesomeness on a sixth studio album, Shadows of the Dying Sun. For a band that has only just reached its fifteen-year mark a sixth album is no small feat in and of itself, but upon listening to the heavy anthemic tracks such as Lose To Night and The Promethean Song, which are peppered throughout this new album, you know you’re listening to something special. Seeing Insomnium live is a real trip. I’m convinced that they must go through at least one guitar per performance due to Markus Vanhala’s insane finger work, which makes up the backbone of their sound. Seriously, this guy’s hands move so fast it’s a wonder he can play more than a few songs in a row.
Between Markus’s sick guitar riffs and Niilo Sevänen’s hellish sound – and believe me I mean that as a compliment – it’s no wonder than fans come to see them perform again and again. Insomnium is passionate about the music they create and they live it fully with every performance. Go see them perform live and you’ll understand how much Insomnium loves what they do, and how much we love them for doing it.