Insomnium - In The Halls Of Awaiting

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Music reviews of In The Halls Of Awaiting

Music Review: insomnium's smashingly fantastic debute album...
Rating: 5 Stars

Ill-Starred Son - After a short acoustic passage, this song blasts right into some heavy riffs and melancholy melodies. We also see Niilo using a few different vocal techinques, which keeps the overall song sounding fresh. (9/10)

Song Of The Storm - Posessing a uniquely grungy sort of sound (I don't know how else to describe it), Song Of The Storm clocks in at a slightly faster pace than most of the other songs on the album, and keeps up the techinical assault of dual guitar harmonies that makes Insomnium who they are. Unfortunately, the vocals occasionally sound muffled, which keeps the listener from enjoying them as much as possible. (8/10)

Medeia - Possibly the best song on the album, Medeia showcases some of the most memorable tunes of any of the songs. Vocals sound perfect and the lyrics are exceptionally well-written
("By starlight, I rock to sleep my dearest ones, under the cold sky I lull to rest my darlings."). (10/10)

Dying Chant - Aside from a couple of great riffs (the opening riff for example), Dying Chant is one of the weakest songs on the album, since neither the lyrics, nor the majority of the melodies are very catchy. While this is by far not a bad song, it seems a bit sub-par when compared to most of the other songs on the album. (7/10)

The Elder - The Elder has more acoustic passages than any of the other songs, and as such, is a very special song on the album where the guitarists get to show off some of their most intricate work and the listener gets a bit of a rest from the smashing metal onslaught. The lyrics are also above average, and quite enjoyable to listen to. (9/10)

Black Waters - I overlooked the greatness of this song my first few times through the album, but it grew on me and my opinion of it has risen sharply. Black Waters is somewhat heavier than many of the other songs, but hidden within is a large dose of instrumental excellance. Give this one some time before you pass judgement on it. (9/10)

Shades Of Deep Green - Shades has what is undeniably the best opening riff on the album, and has a prog rock-ish kind of sound to it which makes it unforgettable. Being the second longest song on the album (around 7 minutes), the band was able to pack a lot of interesting guitar harmonies in Shades Of Deep Green that help to make it an excellant song in it's own rite. (10/10)

The Bitter End - This song is average Insomnium fare except for the lyrics which are some of the best on the album. The lengthy fade-in introduction is well implemented, and some memorable melodies are present, making The Bitter End a fine addition to the album, and well worth listening through. (8/10)

Journey Unknown - My least favourite song on the album is Journey Unknown. It just doesn't have any really defining features which make it stand out. The lyrics are also somewhat wordier than most of the others and don't posess the poetic greatness of songs like 'Medeia' and 'Black Waters'. (7/10)

In The Halls Of Awaiting - As this is both the title track, and the longest song on the album, In The Halls Of Awaiting has a lot to live up to. It fares quite nicely in all aspects, even incorporating some piano aspects into its already abundant musical contents. The longer fade out at the end casts the perfect effect as the outro of both the song and the album. Nicely wrapped up I must say - (9/10)

Overall, this is a highly recommended album to almost any metal fan as it contains a fair amount of diversity and technical musicianship. Now lets hope that Insomnium can keep up the incredible work for their next album!

Description of In The Halls Of Awaiting

Hard Rock & Metal CDs

• Music > Styles
• Pop
• Rock