Above the Weeping World by Released August 9, 2006 ( 2006-08-09) Recorded April 7 – May 14, 2006 Studio Fantom Studio Length 52: 56 Samu Oittinen chronology (2004) 2004 Above the Weeping World (2006) (2009) 2009 Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating 9.4/10 Above the Weeping World is the third. It was released on August 9, 2006 in and on October 17, 2006 elsewhere. A was made for 'Mortal Share.' During its first week the album peaked at #9 on the Finnish album charts (week 39/2006). The album's lyrics have been influenced by (and occasionally taken from) classic poets like, and Finnish classic. The last track of the album, 'In the Groves of Death' lasts about ten minutes, and its main theme is heavily inspired by Leino's poem, the ending poem of his saga. The entire poem 'The Night Has a Thousand Eyes' by English poet is used as a chorus in the album's third track 'Drawn to Black'.

Above the Weeping World has received extraordinary reviews both in Finland (e.g. SUE magazine 10/10)) and abroad (e.g. 5/5), and the album debuted on the Finnish album charts at the 9th position (week 39/2006), which is a remarkable achievement for a band. At the same time Insomnium embarked on their first full European tour, playing 36 gigs in six weeks (5.9 - 15.10), in 15 countries. • Bowar, Chad... Retrieved August 2, 2013. Retrieved 2011-09-09.

Above the Weeping World, an Album by Insomnium. Released September 18, 2006 on Candlelight (catalog no. Candle147CD; CD). Genres: Melodic Death Metal.

• Lawson, Dom (21 October 2006).. Archived from on 5 May 2013.

Retrieved August 2, 2013. • Milas, Alexander (21 October 2006).. Archived from on 5 May 2013.

Retrieved August 2, 2013. • Batmaz, Murat (September 27, 2006).. Retrieved September 9, 2009.

• Ward, Kyle (September 18, 2007).. Retrieved August 2, 2013. • UG Team (June 27, 2007).. Retrieved August 2, 2013. Archived from on 2007-12-27.

Retrieved 2007-12-15. I N S O M N I U M // official homesite • I N S O M N I U M // official homesite.

Insomnium could be likened to a Finnish answer to Amon Amarth, minus the Viking trappings and with a more varied approach that incorporates more acoustic and atmospheric elements. The analogy largely plays into their rugged musical consistency, electing to stick to a style more closely aligned with the early purveyors of the Gothenburg scene, while bringing in a slightly helping of Kalmah and Norther trappings on occasion. Their appeal is largely centered around their ability to remain tasteful in their delivery, not dwelling too long on one given element, while also avoiding the pretension that comes into play with bands that are more overtly progressive.

This band knows their audience and what they want, and what they want is a consistent blend of sorrow and rage, bottled up into a nice package that is very specific, yet with a good amount of nuance. Pacman Dies Sound Free Download. “Above The Weeping World” is basically a continuation of their debut album where the tempo was picked up a bit and a slightly more power metal oriented approach was incorporated.

It is a highly effective blend as it avoids the coasting repetition common to the more ambient bound approach of some bands, as well as the almost pop-like formulaic approach that is taken by both Amon Amarth and, to a somewhat lesser extent, The Crown. While recurring themes are not outright avoided, this album embodies a sort of ambiguity where a clear moment of cadence or a chorus is not necessarily obvious. It is catchy and quite memorable, but the ebb and flow of melodic ideas are not rigorously conformed to a clear symmetry, though in a broader sense the usage of acoustic sections marks clear points of separation that could be viewed as a cadence of sorts.

Unlike the last album, this one is just a little bit stronger the longer the songs are, as the exploitation of acoustic parts is a bit more refined and beautiful. While keyboard usage has been scaled back a bit here, “At The Gates Of Sleep” and “Last Statement” do an excellent job of compensating with well conceived, folksy sounding acoustic interludes and a wide array of melodic motives in the guitars. Everything just comes off as a bit leaner and meaner, save Niilo’s vocal work which is deeper and husky sounding enough to rival Frank Mullen, but it still fits in with the lighter melodic content quite well.

The only real complaint that can be launched against this album is that the shorter songs veer back into In Flames territory (think “Colony”) and have a slightly mechanical feel, but it’s not nearly overt enough to really detract very much from the whole package. The expectation game is the only real enemy that Insomnium faces, and barring a complete revamp of their style, the only chance of an eventual let down would be if something goes wrong in the quality department. “Above The Weeping World” has a fairly easy time measuring up to the standards already set by the last two albums, and has done well by not getting too adventurous with the musical plot formula that has served this band well up to this point. This is the sort of melodeath that any fan of semi-extreme metal can appreciate, lacking the excesses of most of the more established brands. The only real criticism that can be launched at these guys is that they aren’t expanding the genre very much, but then again, if everyone was expanding the genre then before long no one would recognize it anymore. Few albums have ever had me saying 'I must hear that again' after listening.

Insomnium proved to be one of these bands with their 2006 release of Above the Weeping World. The album starts off with a gloomy piece called The Gale and quickly sets the tone for what is to follow. The atmospheric rain in the background of the track further enhances the feeling of woe and the incoming storm of an album. And what a storm it is! Every song has been crafted so brilliantly that you can listen to the album over and over again and still have the same feelings as the first time. The album is basically flawless.

Lyrically, Insomnium has to be the most creative and thought provoking writers of any band I have ever listened to. Each track tells a story and has you questioning what the writer must have gone through to tell such tragic tales. Musically, the band has stayed true to its depressive, but brutal guitar riffs and simple, yet effective drumming. Probably my only problem with the album is the production.

The guitars tend to overpower everything, even the vocals, which is a damn shame because the lyrics are so incredible. That being said, even the vocals can be hard to understand at some points. These flaws are so little compared to the epic album that is Under the Weeping World, and to this day it remains one of my favorite albums of all time and rightly sums up everything the band released prior to this one. My favorite tracks are Mortal Share, Change of Heart, and Last Statement. Above the Weeping World is Insomnium's 3rd album, and while not as strong as their newest album Across the Dark, this record is a strong combination of melodic death metal and soft acoustic interludes, some of which border on ambient. While not my personal favorite of theirs, ATTW is definitely a solid album.

The melodic death metal of the album hasn't changed a whole lot since the first release by the band, but this isn't a bad thing at all. There's some real killer guitar work here, especially on the first three songs. While there aren't any blazing solos or wild technical riffing going on, there is still genuine emotion in the melodies played here, which is Insomniums greatest strength. As on every other of their albums, sorrow, nostalgia anger and even a few glimmers of happiness can be found here, all of which are conveyed in real meaningful ways and avoid sound cheesy or over the top. The vocals contribute a lot to this, with deep powerful roars and growls that really add a lot of feeling to the music. Another big factor is the brilliant use of acoustic guitars, which more than anything here add feeling to the music. Whether used in intros or interludes, the soft acoustic moments are gentle and quite lovely, never out of place and something I really applaud the band for using so well.

The pace is slow-to-mid with occasional fast breaks, however these are few and far between and the majority of the album is content to amble along at a mostly slow speed. The lyrics are another strong point; Insomnium write some of my favorite lyrics of any band. Resembling poetry more than most bands lyrics (and in the 3rd song using an actual poem from Francis William Bourdillion) they are dreary and sorrowful, but like the actual music avoid being cheesy, which is something a lot of artists fail to do.

The highlights of this album for me are the first three songs, the third of which, Drawn to Black, is my favorite off the album and my favorite Insomnium song. The main riff is brilliant, the pace is perfect and the entire song simply works beautifully. There are some slower and duller moments though, particularly towards the end of the album. These are offset by some terrific acoustics though, and don't really take too much away from the album. Overall, this is a strong effort by a fantastic band. Outstanding use of acoustics combined with mostly engaging melodic death metal make for a good combination, and Insomnium pull it off very well here. Generally speaking, melodic death metal is a mix of the melodic aspects of death metal, black metal, and power metal and thrashes metal.

Generally, doom doesn’t get included into the mix, possibly because it’s not up to pace with the rest of the genres, but if this album is anything to go by, it should be done far, FAR more often! Above the Weeping World is not as doomy as say, Swallow the sun, but the tangible influences are quite apparent. They have plenty of ball crushing riffs at not so break neck speed, depressive lyrics and an incredibly melancholic mood. As I mentioned, the guitar work compliments both the general melodic death metal and doom styles. While the riffs aren’t entirely slow, they are mid paced enough to satisfy fans of both sides of the genres spectrum. The lead work on Above the Weeping World is absolutely fantastic, being both technical and emotional to astounding degrees creating a connection with the album to an incredible degree. While the guitar work more or less takes the front seat for ones attention on this album, it leaves for little attention to the drum and bass work.

This may also be due to the lack of amazing presence from these aspects as well, the drumming is good but not amazing, and general beats to compliment the riffs, while the bass only adds to the heaviness of the album. The vocals on this album are normal death metal vocals, but there’s something about them that adds to the tortured, melancholic feel of the album. Although they are growls, there is plenty of emotion in them, something rarely done in most death or melo death albums. Finally, instrumentally an aspect of the album that really caught my attention was the piano pieces in the album.

Now, it isn’t present on all the songs, but when it is used, it creates an amazingly emotional scape for the music, more so then the guitar work and the vocals do combined. Now, not only is the atmosphere and mood of the album quite melancholic, but you may be surprised to find that the lyrics are also quite sad and gloomy! This aspect is also one of Insomnium’s strong points, their lyrics. Now, they do borrow lines from poets from time to time, and they do it on the song Drawn to Black, in which they use a bit from “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes' by English poet Francis William Bourdillon. Other than that, there are great examples of lyricism throughout the album, particularly on In the Groves of Death, The Killjoy and Change of Heart.

The structure tends to be around your basic order, but a lot of the songs have an intensely emotional melodic break at some point in the song which makes the album that much stronger. In terms of being emotional, this album trumps even some of the most renowned gothic metal bands at their own game, playing melancholic metal that doesn’t sound a kin to whinny, mallcore douchebaggery like Atreyu or Mudvayne. All in all it is personally one of my favourite albums of all time and I’m sure anyone interested in doom, gothic or Melodic death metal would be interested in checking it out. To this date, after listening to this album for over 2 months, I am still not sure how to review it. I keep going back and forth on thinking if it is great or if it is a disappointment.

I think it is more good than disappointment however, after many, many listens. The main gripe I have with the album is that I feel as if a lot of the atmosphere always present in previous albums is now compromised. The sound is still the very thick Insomnium sound we are accustomed to but it feels as if something is missing, making parts of the album sound dry and without substance. The riffs are there, but you can't really feel melody or much emotion. The vocals are harsh, deep, and thick, but it sounds boring combined with the riffs at times. In previous albums, I was always able to feel a lot of anger and sadness in the vocals, but at times in here, I don't.

Now when I talk about not much atmosphere being present at times, I am talking about the intro, 'The Gale', parts of 'The Killjoy', parts of 'At The Gates of Sleep'. I am not going to add 'Devoid of Caring' to the list because I don't think it fits into the above category, but I just don't like the song too much. The riffs are melodic, the vocals are rather good, but it just seems too much like a recycled version of something out of 'In the Halls of Awaiting'.

There are many great moments on this album however, which I feel outweigh the negative parts. 'Mortal Share' is one of the best songs Insomnium have ever made and I just love the main riff. I never get bored of it. The vocals in this song are amazing as well as you could almost feel the desperation in Niilo's voice. This song is filled with a thick sound as well as a good atmosphere and if the rest of this album was like this song, it would have easily been the best album I've ever listened to. 'Drawn to Black' is a rather lengthy song, but I also like the main riff.

It isn't too fast, but very melodic, and it seems to build up into a great but sad song. In here, the vocals are more filled with sadness than desperation or anger. The song has a lot of atmosphere and it is definitely a dark song. The chorus is also very good as it is almost a lift from the dark and very low verses.

'Change of Heart' starts off with a pleasant acoustic intro and then explodes into a tirade of depression. The main riff in this song is quite melodic and I like it because the vocals seem to go along with the melody of the riff very well. There are also a lot of background synths that provide an extra thick sound and atmosphere. 'Last Statement' is another great song. It starts off badly though, with a pretty boring, standard, and non-melodic dark riff. It slowly builds up, but it doesn't get really good until the chorus. I just love how the dark and generic riffs build up and explode into some very melodic riffs with great vocals and some good thick drumming.

It is almost as if the boring intro was put in on purpose to provide this effect. 'In the Groves of Death' is the longest song on the album and starts off very well with one of the best Insomnium acoustic intros they've done so far. The song slowly builds up with more instruments coming in one by one and the song gets more melodic. It has a lot of acoustic guitar which can be boring sometimes, but not in this song.

It is a slower paced and darker sounding song so the acoustic guitar fits in very well. Overall this is a very good album.

I just loved Insomnium's sound a lot in the beginning so I am a bit disappointed with some of the songs on here. But the good thing is that most of the songs still have a nice thick and rich Insomnium sound, and since I keep listening to the album after 2 months, Insomnium must have done something right. I will be very forgiving with the score because despite its faults, I can't bring myself to give this album a low score with some of the great moments that are on here. Slowly 'The Gale' works its way up into a strong and beautiful instrumental beginning this album in a way fit to restore hope a lot of people may be losing in the Melodic Death Metal genre. The album quickly moves into a faster tempo with 'Mortal Share.'

They fall into their very familiar 'In Flames worship' style melodically in the beginning of the verse, but the vocals are still strong and reminiscent of Amon Amath. 'Drawn In Black' is a very nice mid tempo piece.

All the progressions are very smooth and welcomed, rather than trading down into something generic having you wish to rewind and enjoy the former riffs, as all too often happens. This song stays very fresh making it a very enjoyable six-minute song.

At times they remind me of Eternal Tears of Sorrow in melody construction, and Dark Tranquility with acoustic and whispered vocal sections, but the strong rhythm guitar and deep vocals keep reminding you you're listening to Insomnium. 'Change of Heart' twinkles in acoustically, but unfortunately the rhythm guitar comes in and seems very similar to that found on their first album, then progressing to lead melodies again of that style which reminds us all of the old In Flames albums. The song does improve throughout though, at 2:20 progressing into a very folky but rather subtle lead melody. 'The Killjoy' seems to lack the higher melodies found in their other songs, though 4 minutes in it offers one of the best acoustic transitions on the album. 'Devoid Of Caring' is another strong song on the album where vocals seem to take a backseat to a great atmosphere focused on a very nice lead guitar, and finishes nicely, making this easily one of their best mid-tempo songs. 'In The Groves Of Death' begins very much sounding Gothic Metal but rolls into another nice Melodic Death Metal song laced with a beautiful lead. Personally I enjoy the slower tempo transitions in this song than the rest.

The crafted way this album kicks off at you'd be forgiven for imagining they were going to take their time bringing in and ending songs but it seems most of the songs on 'Above The Weeping World' have an abrupt ending. However this is my main issue with the album, hardly the biggest flaw to complain about, but for artists with such progression and atmosphere you'd imagine they would wind down each song quite nicely.

My pick for best cut on the album is 'Drawn In Black.' For worst cut, 'Last Statement,' as it is rather average and seems to be a fairly American style song not really in unity with the rest of the album. This album overall really is a bit of everything I love from (the old) In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Amon Amarth, and Eternal Tears of Sorrow. With this, their Third LP, I have no reservations about putting Insomnium in the ranks of the best Melodic Death Metal bands that have been around. The production is very strong on 'Above The Weeping World' giving it a great atmosphere superior to their earlier releases.

This is a very solid effort showing Insomnium are still improving, defining themselves, and are a group to keep an eye on in the future.