#VAGABONDZREVIEW: INSOMNIUM - ARGENT MOON

Argent Moon by Insomnium has been the release I was patiently waiting and longing for. The EP of ballads fulfilled by melancholy, love, power, acceptance, and even fury. That's what I've been appreciating Insomnium for, though, this band is kinda new for me.

Insomnium - Argent Moon. Out on September 17 via Century Media Records

Actually, I first heard of Insomnium many years ago but never gave them a proper listen. Still I'm not sure why I didn't, maybe needed to grow up to start understanding this deep and wise music like Insomnium or for instance Amorphis write. But the last year became turning point for me to change views on many things including music. That's why now I'm kinda heavy, melancholic and dark music lover (who I think I've been the plenty of my lifetime listening to a lot of HIM, The Rasmus, The 69 Eyes and similar artists). So, at the moment my taste has finally become more defined. But now, let's change for review!

The new Insomnium Argent Moon EP contains 4 songs. This release is special for the band, because it consist of ballads only. All of them are incredibly beautiful and strong ballads written by the band when undefined coronavirus times began. The released songs reflect on one hand ambiguity and fatality but also espress strong hope and belief that can be followed during every song.

Before Insomnium accounced their Argent Moon EP I started writing my thoughts on The Conjurer (in spring/summer this year) which had become the opening song for the record. After the band made official release announcement I decided to wait in case to also evaluate EP as a whole. This time I would like to start with song by song review.

THE CONJURER

Released in March, I firstly heard this song in early April when dipped into Insomnium music. I never made a habit of listening to the song on repeat because several times a day seemed more adequate. But The Conjurer and Insomnium music as a whole changed my way of listening. It seemed I could be listening to those for eternity.

What did make me act like that? I guess proper mood supplemented with emotions that could find reflection in Insomnium-like music. I find this music real. For instance, I like the way acoustic guitars sound here. I believe the incoming sound wasn't almost modified (maybe only slight equalizing stuff) because in some records I heard the acoustics have too artificial sound and of course it's a big mistake. In acoustic instruments it's important to pick out it's naturality first of all and not to clutter it up with effects that can overshadow reality. The Conjurer acoustic guitar parts are the best demonstration of liveliness and naturality in recorded sound. And so as for the whole EP.

The song starts in magnificent and dreamy way with beautiful acoustic guitars melody. That idea becomes soon extended and continued by lead guitar. I really like the way it starts here, this slowly and beautiful melody states the song topic and mood dominating over acoustics and same time perfectly combining to those. All melodies are recognizible, easy-listening and complimenting to the song mood perfectly. To my mind, it's the right way to start the story that promises to be fulfilled with melancholy and power. Lead guitar transforms into classic Insomnium style verse. Even the beginning is dreamy and slowly, it always felt like waiting to hear that heavy guitar sound that would emphasize the calm and lively acoustics. As far as the verse starts, you can also notice the lead guitar pattern to be pretty similar to Pale Morning Star pre-chorus part. That part is giving the nice backgroung in sound field.

The moment after the first verse brings us back to the calm beginning of the song letting us hear magnificent melodic bridge containing drums, bass and lead guitar only. Listen to that, it's just pure magic alive! Then calmness is rapidly changed to mightness and brutality. Those somethimes unexpectable strikes from peacefullness and calmness to power and brutality can be seen during all record and I'm sure that's the element making Argent Moon EP so special.

Talking about lyrics, I especially liked this part:

You made thе vows to return to me

On this shore by thе silent sea

... and how those strong vocal lines are changed by break that's really emotional one. This one surely expresses sorrow and dissapointment but same time shows strong power. I like the way guitars are dominating here building the main sound.

The chorus has dreamy and sorrow vibes and growling vocals are just the best for such parts. It's noticible that The Conjurer has become the only song on EP where the clean vocals doesnt show up. The only appearing of those are in "How we lost it all" filling that still fits amazingly to the whole composition.

I can’t find proper words to describe my admiration to Insomnium for writing especially this song. It's some rare one I'm able to be listening to forever. It's just like a hurricane of emotions gathered in only one 7 minutes. The Conjurer is that unique one that makes you feel pain but greatly cheers you up. This effect is totally intoxicating.

Speaking of my most favorite moment in this song, I've chosen this one. It's the most powerful and strong part of the song:

And I know it in my heart You will never come to me

By the side of someone else

You will watch the gleaming skies

I shall tear down all the stars Steal the moon from heaven's arms They will never shine upon your path As you roam the endless night

Every time when I listen to this part in particular there’s always shiver down my spine and tears in my eyes. The emotions totally dominate, because this song in total has strong connection to my personal experienced and I find myself in many lines of this song. The best one on this EP...

The Reticient

The second song of Argent Moon EP is perfectly expanding the opening track but adds more sorrow, bitterness and even emotional wreck. With catchy depressive intro soon complented with clean vocals, the song creates the dark mood and dives you into profound and deepest thoughts. It becomes obvious that sorrow theme dominates here much more than is The Conjurer.

Sadness, confusion and acceptance that's what I've heard in the beginning of verse.

I keep losing track of time

My sense of self, where I belong

I keep falling deeper into the hole

Disconnected, all alone

Clean vocals is the perfect idea to emphasize those feelings even more. But soon the calm and slow intro is surprisingly disturbed by growling vocals that adss up so great power and wider sound together with strenthening the sorrow with the shades of humility.

Nevermind that pretty depressive beggining, soon Insomnium adds up the hope turning over the initial song meaning.

The turning point of that change is those lines:

These walls will collapse, wash out to see

And I float along, let the stream carry me

The song mood changes and it becomes more about belief that depression. This idea is greatly caught and heard also in long keyboard solo that for sure adds more color to The Reticient. What a great idea of so unexpected mood changing, it's totally Insomnium style. I also like the way this song smoothly appears out of The Conjurer. The joint was made just the way it should be done.

The Antagonist

After another slow and smooth bridge it's the time for the third song on the EP. It's called The Antagonist and during the first listening the clean vocals of Niilo Sevänen just mezmerized me. The way he performes here just made me move closely to the speaker and enjoy the every moment of that magic.

This has become my favorite moment in the song:

You held my hand though the night

You held my heart

According to the spirit of the song is closer to The Reticient. The song also starts with clean vocals and the growling parts are heard only in the second half. The Antagonist seemed fulfilled by sorrow even more than previous two tracks especially taking into account end of the road vibes. This is the most thoughts-making track on EP where the music highlights the song topic and making it deeper. Despite of other songs, The Antagonist has clean chorus and I'm sure it's another great way to point out the importance to think over, listening to this deep and calm song. Another emphasizer helping to feel this song better is slightly delayed clean vocals and it was good step for sure. This effect added up to doom and fatality as the main topic of the song.

The Wanderer

The Wanderer has become the final breath of the EP. It has plenty of clean vocal parts even more than previous two songs and it makes this one really special.

Since the very first listening I've fallen with acoustic melody (that I really want to learn) here and this slow drums entering. This song shows more calmness than the others. Keyboards on the background makes the sfter bridges between verse parts and empasizes sorrow again. Sevanen's clean fillings. After repeating acoustic intro the next verse becomes wider and transforms into heavy chorus with growling vocals. Guitars and keys on the background. Short guitar melody transforms into keys+drums bridge and it sounds just magnificent especially when growling vocals enters then.

As I mentioned in earlier reviews, I accept and appreciate both kind of vocals in melodic death metal, and I want to underline the importance of this deep connection between those two. The beginning of The Wanderer is tend to be melancholic and calm with its (I won't stop repeating) natural and lively acoustics but closer to the second half of the song it still reminds us of firm side of Insomnium music. It's heaviness and power throws me into goosebumps and seems I've been waiting for growling vocals to start as soon as possible.

The most surpring part in The Wanderer which keeps the blowing up power is the outro. It's the break up moment of this song where lyrics complement music just the way it should to demostarate prayer-like features:

For Death will never touch me

Untill I find my blackened soul

One of the strongest moments of the record. I have shiever down my spine when listen to that moment every time. How perfectly the band wrote that part, it's just so real and just breathtaking.

About The Entire Record

Talking about Argent Moon as a whole, I would like to repeat the phrase I used earlier. It's so real. Every feeling have lived added to lyrics and highlighded with such beautiful and melancholic tunes can attract attention from the first listening. At this moment, Argent Moon is one of the best release I heard in 2021.

I would like to point out the good dynamics during all the record. The drums and bass sound was built in high-quality way and it deserves real respect from me as wannabe sound engineer. Overheads and room settings used by the band are the key element for creating wider sound and the firmness of kick can combine with bass and guitars in perfect way. For me the sound made here is melodic death metal standard. There are clean and growling vocal parts that are also the key feature to create feelings and song mood change or the good way to create the mixture of similar feelings (as sorrow, acceptance and anger as in The Reticient). If you use headphones or speakers with emphasized bass, believe me, you'll love it. Naturally built acoustics create more varible and wider sound field. Such effect is nicely highlighted by lower intruments (as kick and bass). The sound field is absolutely clean, we hear only istruments with no mess or clutter. That's another important thing Insomnuim perfectly handled.

One more thing amazingly performed by Insomnium are rapid mood change from calmness to brutality. This is my most favorite element in Argent Moon EP. Those unexpecteded strikes from clean to heavy parts and in reverse are performing totally intoxicating effect. When the music makes you both feeling out of sorts and thrilled to bits is something that you can experience listening to this mighty record. It's real game changer for the band and maybe once they would make the Argent Moon-like record.

And finally, about the lyrics. They are always important to pay attention to, and especially in Insomnium music. Only with reading and understanding those, you can understand the music as a whole and notice how nicely they compliment music adding complete storyline. It's hard to point out only one song, but I'm convienced that The Conjurer has the closest lyrics idea and song spirit for me and that's why I wanna extend every beautiful moment of this one... This song is 7.25 minutes long, but those doens't seem to be eternity. In reverse, those seem to have gone so fastly. Pain, sorrow, disssapointment and melancholy with acceptance and belief are those feelings that seem to be a bit weired on the first blush. In reality it shows the deep mixtage of feelings every human being have ever had. Listening to this song in some breaking moments can bring even heavier pain, but it's the only way to get though this condition and better understand your feelings. The Conjurer is the best medicine of pain, because it gives belief even there's no more hope left. The song that same time gives power to get through the pain and makes you inspired to create. This song is the greatest foundation for those who feel lost their way.

In my opinion, 2021 has been pretty weak year for releases. Maybe it's connected to the worldwide situation and absense of live concerts but there were only couple of releases that could really impress and surprise me so far. There are many things on the way of course, but now I want to claim Argent Moon to be one of the top mighty, deep, thoughts-making, calm, heavy and melancholic records of 2021. And that's is why I deeply admire Insomnium for. This release is surely winning for the band as far they have proved the ability to write AMAZING music another time. Argent Moon EP is like a gift for a listener and given ability to think, analyze your feelings and emotions and dip into melancholic and beautiful world created by Insomnium music.

Thanks for reading this in-deep review. More to come soon!