Insomnium - Anno 1696

Insomnium's Melodic Death Metal Shines - Both on "Anno 1696" and Live In Concert


Returning to the U.S. for the first time since their COVID-shortened Tour Like a Grave lasted one Philadelphia show in March of 2020, this spring marked the first New York City Insomnium show since 2018. They embarked upon a North American tour that spanned almost the entire month of April, this being the first night, and they brought Black Anvil and Enslaved along for the entire ride. The tour supported their new album Anno 1696, a powerful new chapter for the band.

Photo credit: Tom Campagna
Photo credit: Tom Campagna

Black Anvil’s black metal opened what was essentially a hometown show as they played a set of tracks that was exclusive to their 2022 release Regenesis. I was not able to get there in time due to a hectic evening with train delays galore, but was able to show up in time for Insomnium’s set. Progressive black metal legends Enslaved closed out the night. The set heavily featured their new album, Heimdal, and previous record Utgard, which wasn’t able to be toured extensively due to COVID. The set even went all the way back to their Yggdrasill demo from 1992 with “Allfáðr Oðinn.” All in all, Enslaved brought the house down after a night of epic music at the beginning of what was to become a very cold transition to spring in the Mid-Atlantic.

Insomnium’s live set gives some clues into what makes their newest album, Anno 1696, magnificent. Album and set opener “1696” starts slowly and gives way to riff sections that speed up and crash into layers of beauty. Powerful dynamics dominate Insomnium’s sound, allowing for it to become more fully fleshed out. The album features two guest spots, the first of which made it onto the setlist (guest-less, however): “White Christ,” which on tape boasts Sakis Tolis of Rotting Christ at the outset of the song as mid-paced riffs crash around an emotive atmosphere. On the record, this track is followed directly by “Godforsaken,” featuring vocalist Johanna Kurkela, a native Finn who is the wife of Nightwish’s Tuomas Holopainen, who, aside from her own solo career, has appeared on albums from her husband’s band and Sonata Arctica. She adds a layer of beauty that Insomnium usually reserve for guitar parts, instead allowing the riffs to be more crushing and bombastic juxtaposed against her elegance, with some Middle Eastern sounds thrown in for good measure.

Photo credit: Tom Campagna
Photo credit: Tom Campagna

Insomnium love to keep balance a central theme on Anno 1696, never allowing for it to become too much of one sound. “Lillian” opens with acoustic guitar before the drums dial up the speed off in the distance, ever so often coming in to join the heavy riffs, and “The Witch Hunter” is a late album contender for best song. Right out of the gate, you are hit with crushing riffs and mesmerized by the ethereal in what is one of the most straightforward songs on the album, acting as a great track to get new fans a foothold on the record as a complete whole. The three-guitar attack serves the band well here, keeping all of the separate pieces together and making for a whole that is more than the sum of all its separate parts. Across the album, the heavy riffs they deliver can transition to beauty and counter the rough vocal sections.

The night’s setlist wasn’t just the new album, though, as the band inserted tracks from Above the Weeping World, Shadows of the Dying Sun, and closed things out with the title track from Heart Like a Grave, digging deep at times but allowing for the sounds of their sonic evolution to be felt across their time as a band, never deviating too much from their core sonic beliefs. The show was a great return to New York City for the reigning masters of Finnish extreme metal, on the heels of an excellent album.

Anno 1696 released February 24th via Century Media Records.