LIVE REVIEW: Insomnium @ Academy 3, Manchester

With the cold grip of winter tightening, the miserable January blues and the hangover of the holiday break still lingering for many, January is a bleak month. The one benefit? Winter gig season is in full swing. Finland’s INSOMNIUM are a fitting band given the seasonal circumstances, with their melancholic melodic death metal operating as the perfect soundtrack. Arriving in Manchester, the band look set to bring an emotionally-heavy experience to those looking to shelter from the cold.

With a two band billing, rising UK stars CONJURER operate as the sole support for the tour and given the fact that the room of Academy 3 is a hive of activity from the moment doors have opened offers just an insight into the hype surrounding the band. The other benefit of being sole support? CONJURER are given a lengthy set, allowing the quartet to establish a commanding presence from the first bout to the very last. Their hybrid of sludge meets doom meets post metal has already convinced many through the release of their stunning debut, Mire, and frequent performances up and down the country in the aftermath of that record’s release, but sitting underneath INSOMNIUM‘s lighter, more melancholic, brand of metal, they inject a serious dosage of aggression, establishing themselves as the perfect opener to the evening.

Brady Deeprose and Dan Nightingale‘s dual vocal assault packs an almighty punch whilst bassist Conor Marshall must be suffering from a serious case of whiplash as he windmills relentlessly throughout the set. In a set that is jam-packed full of stunning moments, a huge highlights comes when Nightingale steps away from the mic to bellow into the audience. It quite simply, raises the hairs on the back of your neck. In a set that ebbed and flowed through the band’s expansive sonic pallet, switching from passages of dense heaviness to flourishes of sombre reflection, CONJURER enticed and captivated the audience throughout their time on stage. They are one of the brightest sparks in our scene and they are quickly establishing themselves as one of our national treasures.

Rating: 9/10

Given that CONJURER had practically levelled the stage by the time they had finished serving up their wicked blend of musical devastation, there may have been some apprehension towards whether INSOMNIUM possessed the mettle to deliver a headlining set that maintained the same level of excellence. Fortunately, the wealth of experience and expertise at the Finns’ disposal paid dividends as their headlining performance glistened with quality throughout.

Sure, CONJURER may possess a much more brutish edge to their sound but INSOMNIUM‘s clever incorporation of melancholic charms and hook-laden melodies ensured the band captivated the audience’s attention throughout. Opening with Valediction, the first cut from last year’s Heart Like A Grave that we’d hear tonight, the band give the first glimpse into their melodic majesty as Jani Liimatainen‘s angelic cleans cut through the mix effectively, operating as a perfect counter to Niilo Sevänen‘s growling roars.

It’s not just in the vocal department where INSOMNIUM‘s adoration for melodies impress, it’s in the guitar department too. Dynamically switching from thunderous riffing in Ephemeral to soaring twin harmonies in While We Sleep for example, Liimatainen and Ville Friman‘s guitar play is simply spectacular throughout their time on stage, demonstrating not only their individual prowess as players but as effective team players as a unit. Sevänen operates as the driving force of the band’s live presence, not only playing off Markus Hirvonen‘s flawless drumming with his work on the bass but as the focal point for the heaviness in INSOMNIUM‘s musical repertoire thanks to his roaring growls that pack a mighty punch.

With a hefty portion of the set dedicated to material from Heart Like A Grave, which are well received and hold up well in the set, some of the most impressive moments of the set come with the selection of gems from their back catalogue. In The Groves of Death‘s sombre tones cranks the emotions up to a new level and Into The Woods‘ harmonious guitar licks keep heads banging aplenty. Whilst it may be disappointing that no material from the band’s first two records made the cut or that no songs from 2016’s sensational Winter’s Gate made an appearance (although understandable given the record’s presentation as one epic long song), this is just nitpicking. In truth, what INSOMNIUM displayed throughout their headlining set was a performance of quality; one in which effectively connected with the audience and held their attention from the first sombre note to the very last.

Rating: 8/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Manchester from Sabrina Ramdoyal Photography here: