Insomnium

The mid-size city of Joensuu, with a population of almost 80 thousand people, is where Insomnium took its first steps. Not an area particularly associated with metal music, it did not deter the band from making huge leaps with each record. It all started in 1997. The ensemble fronted from the very beginning by Niilo Sevänen recorded two demos at the turn of the century and in 2002, they released their full-length debut album, “In the Halls of Awaiting”.  

Both this and the follow-up album, “Since the Day It All Came Down”, are widely considered to be highly introspective pinnacles of melodic death metal. However, the band’s true milestone was “Above the Weeping World” from 2006 – an album still at the crossroads of melodic death metal and doom metal yet showcasing the band’s more fantastical and oftentimes progressive face. Upon its premiere, the album reached the top ten of the Finnish charts. 

This notable rise in popularity solidified Insomnium’s position as a big metal band – a position that they hold still. The band continues to record and release successful records (the latest three were best-selling albums in Finland), seamlessly blending melodic death metal, doom metal and progressive elements. The latest full-length album released by the Century media artists is Anno 1696 from 2023.