Insomnium - Above the Weeping World

Epic Melodic Death Metal. If it wasn’t already immediately obvious why you should love melodic death metal, this is Figure A in a pretty clear case. These guys aren’t singing about wanting to do battle or being really evil or how vikings are sweet or about how they like beating women or whatever you think metal is about, they’re singing about things that you and I are concerned with—loss, death, love, whether there is a god, not wanting to be forgotten. The Death Metal growl hides sensitive and moving lyrics; can you say Emo with a double-kick? This album has just about everything you want out of a metal album: epic guitars that evoke both joy and sorrow, intensely structured songs, barely-intelligible vocals screaming about existential angst, some folk-inspired acoustic work, and quiet half-croon-half grown sensitive parts. Absolutely, totally unfuckwithable. All Clean. Picks: All! 6! 7! 4!

*** 1. Dramatic/Epic intro with rainfall and slowly building guitars. Sensitive metal vocals let it all loose into I can’t-take-it growls! [2:41]

***2. Long melodic lead guitar intro goes into fast rhythm and growly vocals about how the Gods are far away and can’t hear us. Awesome sensitive interlude. [3:59]

****3. More guitar that totally rips, and riding the double kick drum like they want it to die a terrible death. Best lyrics yet: “Only the stars see, only the moon hears... / And quietly the Water-lilies sigh / Like the last breath of a weary soul.” [6:00]

*****4. Fucking. Great. Has some awesome symphonic keyboard parts in the background and great acoustic-folk-metal parts. The last ten seconds of this song are worth selling your soul for. [4:30]

***** 5. Whispers and acoustic guitar, with some slower guitar parts. The last minute is totally sweet with semi-synchronized leads. [7:05]

***************6. The way the vocal parts about losing your dreams and the suffering hopelessness of love are belied by the incredibly hopeful and joyful guitar lines is more or less convincing arguments for a benevolent deity. I dare you not to be moved by 3:15 until the end of the song. [5:22]

************ 7. Jesus fucking christ is this shit amazing. Your heart will be rent by end of the hopeful/less cries of: “Don’t forget me!” How can people listen to so much hipster bullshit when there is music this raw and powerful? He’s singing his own death rattle. Please listen to how the guitar builds starting at minute five, creating a river for you to float out to sea on. Imagine the vocalist singing the way he does because he wants to sound tough, but he’s barely keeping it together. [7:05]

***** 8. With this Fall / I Fall... All guitars must blaze! Long slow breakdown, fades out with keyboard work. [5:40]

***** 9. Epic as fuck! More acoustic work that leads into killer lead guitar lines. Over 10 minutes, and not even a little boring. Two massive parts joined by a quiet interlude. Long fadeout as you watch your life slip away. [10:07]

/Kraid