Insomnium have been sharing teasers since the end of last year on the progression of their follow-up to 2016’s Winter’s Gate. We’ve known since last summer that these Finnish melodic death metallers will be working on fresh material after we spoke to guitarist Markus Vanhala as he told us they were aiming to release a new album sometime in the “later half of nineteen.”
The band has now revealed they’ve entered the studio to work on their overall eighth full-length effort, which is officially scheduled for an autumn 2019 release. The group are working with engineer Kimmo Perkkiö at SF Studio and will then go to Teemu Aalto Music Production in Kotka. Jens Bogren will then mix the record at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden. It’s safe to say, we should expect another forty minutes or so of complete desolation as Vanhala explained:
“Again when the days grew darker and the nights became colder, our path led into the dark. We checked-in to our traditional forest cabin-hq in the southern Finland for a new material rehearsal camp and (un)reality-check. We came out with 10’ish songs full of that good ol’ Finnish melancholy, sorrow & misery and now it’s time to wrap it all on tape for you peeps to hear ’em. Cannot wait to start the studio process and let the creative processes go up-and-down again!”
Frontman/bassist Niilo Sevänen added:
”Exactly so! We have a pile of great songs in our hands and we can’t wait to get these recorded and finished. I would say the album will be the kind of dreary and wistful Insomnium that people probably might expect but we also have a few surprises in store. Lyrically the album will revolve around Finland’s bleakest and most sorrowful tales and songs. So this time we are really going into the blackened heart of Finnish gloom!”
Vanhala is also part of Omnium Gatherum as the group released their latest effort The Burning Cold last year, which was considered one of the best albums of 2018. We once asked the guitarist how he has the energy being committed to both projects, he replied:
“I don’t know. It’s so weird. It takes persistence. I’ve been with Omnium Gatherum since I was fourteen and when I joined Insomnium, both bands weren’t that successful at that time, so it was not so busy. So, I thought I would easily be part of two bands but now, these two bands are touring a lot. It’s very busy at the moment but I don’t know how it happened. So far, so well. I did about six tours over the past six months and got an album done and [laughter], write the songs, somehow. If you wanna do something then you have to. It all happened, I don’t know how [laughter]!”
