Insomnium is a

melodic death metal Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavines ...

band from

Joensuu Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä (northern part of Lake Saimaa) at the mouth of the Pielinen River (''Pielisjoki''). It was founded in 1848. Th ...

, Finland. The sound and lyrical themes of their music portray darkness, sorrow, loss, pain, and nature. They are primarily a melodic death metal band with occasional elements of

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

and

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

History

On 9 September 2011 Insomnium released the music video "Through the Shadows" from their 2011 album, '' One for Sorrow''. In November, 2011 Insomnium embarked on their first headlining European tour with support from Before the Dawn and MyGRAIN. During April, 2012 Insomnium returned to tour the U.K. as the main support act for British

gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy met ...

band,

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...

. Vreid was also present on the tour as a supporting opening act. On 19 September 2013 Insomnium released "Ephemeral," a single from their foreshadowed 2014 album, ''

Shadows of the Dying Sun ''Shadows of the Dying Sun'' is the sixth studio album by the Finnish melodic death metal band Insomnium. It was released in North America on April 29, 2014 via Century Media Records, and on April 25 in Finland, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland ...

'', via

Century Media Records Century Media Records is a heavy metal record label with offices in the United States, Germany and London. In August 2015, Century Media was acquired by Sony Music for US$17 million. Background Century Media was founded by Robert Kampf and Oli ...

. It is the first track to feature new guitarist, Markus Vanhala (

Omnium Gatherum Omnium Gatherum is a six-piece melodic death metal band from Finland, founded in the autumn of 1996. Although the band mainly follows the path of the melodic death metal genre, much of their work shows strong influences from progressive metal, ...

), who replaced Ville Vänni in 2011. On 29 April 2014 Insomnium released their sixth studio album, ''

''. On 30 April 2014 they made a guest appearance on Epica's CD release show at 013 in the Netherlands. On 19 May 2016, Insomnium announced their seventh studio album, ''

Winter's Gate ''Winter's Gate'' is the seventh studio album by the Finnish melodic death metal band Insomnium. It was released worldwide on September 23, 2016 via Century Media Records. It is a concept album said to be about “a group of Vikings who set out t ...

'' to be released on 23 September. It is a concept album consisting of a single epic 40-minute track, and it is said to be about "a group of Vikings who set out to find a fabled island west of Ireland, despite the treacherous winter drawing near." This album was based on the short story by Niilo, "Winter's Gate", or "Talven Portti" in the original Finnish. This story won or was nominated for many Finnish awards. In 2019, they announced their eighth album, ''

Heart Like a Grave ''Heart Like a Grave'' is the eighth studio album by Finnish melodic death metal band Insomnium, released on 4 October 2019 via Century Media. It is the first album to feature guitarist Jani Liimatainen. ''Loudwire'' named it one of the 50 best m ...

'', would be released on 4 October 2019. With the album announcement they also confirmed that the guitarist

Jani Liimatainen Jani Allan Kristian Liimatainen (born 9 September 1980) is a Finnish musician, songwriter and backing vocalist, currently a member of melodic death metal band Insomnium. He is the former guitarist and one of the founding members of the power m ...

had joined the band as a full-time member, as he had occasionally filled in for Ville Friman on tours since 2015. Insomnium released a new EP, titled ''Argent Moon'', on September 17, 2021. Simultaneously, they talked about plans for an upcoming ninth studio album to be released in 2022. In 2022, they announced their ninth album, ''Anno 1696'', would be released on 24 February 2023. Like ''Winter's Gate'', the album is based on a short story by Niilo.

Members

Current members

Niilo Sevänen Niilo Sevänen (born 19 August 1979) is a musician from Joensuu, Finland. He is best known as the current lead vocalist/bassist for the melodic death metal band, Insomnium. Background Sevänen grew up on the coast of Finland in the town of Tur ...

− bass,

harsh vocals A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for their ...

(1997−present) *

Ville Friman Dr. Ville Friman (born April 30, 1980) is a Finnish musician. He is one of the founders, main composer, and guitarist of the melodic death metal band Insomnium. Although Insomnium is his main band, he also plays guitar for the dark/thrash/black-me ...

− guitars (1997−present),

clean vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

(2011−present) * Markus Hirvonen − drums (1997−present) * Markus Vanhala − guitars (2011−present) *

− guitars, clean vocals (2019−present, touring 2015−2019)

Former members

* Tapani Pesonen − drums, guitars (1997−1998) * Timo Partanen − guitars (1998−2001) *

Ville Vänni Ville Vänni (born January 14, 1979) is a Finnish musician. He was one of the guitarists of the melodic death metal band Insomnium. On October 31, 2011, Insomnium announced that Ville was leaving the band due to personal and career commitments. ...

− guitars (2001−2011)

Touring members

* Nick Cordle − guitars (2022) * Mike Bear - vocals,bass (2015)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Demos

* ''Demo 1999'' (1999) * ''Underneath the Moonlit Waves'' (2000)

EPs

*''Ephemeral'' (2013) * ''Argent Moon'' (2021)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1997 establishments in Finland Finnish heavy metal musical groups Finnish melodic death metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1997 Musical quintets Candlelight Records artists