Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Insomnium - Since the Day It All Came Down (2004)
With melodic death metal not being my usual poison I have found working my way through this particular site challenge to have unearthed some surprises. Insomnium are one of the bigger unexpected sources of entertainment for me, having heard the name on numerous occasions but never getting round to see what the fuss was about I was pleasantly surprised by Since the Day It All Came Down.
First off, this is a very mature sounding record which considering it was their sophomore release was a very promising start. The songwriting throughout the album is a real treat in terms of composition and construction. There's layers in spades here, building melodies before pacing them with the more aggressive tempos of most tracks. The leads feel melancholic and harrowing adding real atmosphere to the storytelling.
The balance to the pace and tempo overall is good but at times is does all sound a bit samey. Often the record reminds me of a slightly more talented Amon Amarth, some of the riffs are that repetitive. It feels like the band found a winning formula and overused it somewhat. This is a shame because as already stated there's obvious talent here but it just seems to get stale in places.
When not resting on established methods the album does develop real textures in places and did stop me in my tracks on a couple of occasions to take note of such particular moments. All in all though, the work involved in sitting around waiting for the more adventurous moments is taxing for the reward provided. Songs like The Moment of Reckoning lack any sensible direction and just repeat the same chorus in two different styles, one grim spoken word the other more death metal style vocals and it is almost laughable notwithstanding the fact that the music on the track itself is actually quite good but the vocals remove all sense of enjoyment.
For all my gripes and grumbles there's still a decent enough record here, it just doesn't set my world on fire.