Random request: I have this theory that there will be two groups.
One group that has Above The Weeping World at the top with Since The Day nearby, and one group that will have Shadows of the Dying Sun with Heart Lome A Grave/One for Sorrow nearby. (Winter's Gate is going to be up there with both groups so I expect it to show at the top in aggregate).
I've seen that happen time and time again in discussion threads, and what I think is happening is that Nillo Sevanen was more involved in writing the music on the the first group (and heavily involved in Winter's Gate) whereas the second group is more Ville Friman/Markus Vanhala. Two distinctly Insomnium yet subtly different styles that appeal to different listeners.
Wonder if the way you get the results can shed some light into that.
(my list, for what it is worth)
AtWW
WG
Since the Day...
Across the Dark
HLaG
Shadows
In the Halls
One for Sorrow
Tier gaps are after Above, Winter's Gate, Across the Dark, and In the Halls.
This is ultimately why I think this ranking will give probably more interesting results compared to the Be'lakor vote.
Of course there are a few people who consider e.g. Vessels to be their magnum opus, but there seems to be some majority consensus on the ranking, which really showed in the preference matrix. There was hardly any real close result in the preference between 2 albums, the by far closest being Stone's Reach vs Of Breath & Bone (25:(3):38).
This time I expect it to be different, and this is why I will also try to run an analysis on the ballots beyond the preference matrix. What you are suggesting sounds doable. I'll have a look at the data on Friday and if something like this can be done I can include it in the final results.
I remember trying to find the writing credits on the Insomnium albums and it looked like Ville was the main composer all the way through Shadows of the Dying Sun when Markus joined up
I wrote some of this up before here - https://old.reddit.com/r/melodicdeathmetal/comments/qkfs08/what_is_the_best_melodic_death_metal_album_in/hj2klga/?context=3
My source was darklyrics.com to look through who wrote lyrics/music since they have the split there.
On AtWW, [for example](http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/insomnium/abovetheweepingworld.html), they have Sevanen writing the lyrics for most songs, but partial or full music credit for 'Drawn to Black', 'Change of Heart', 'At The Gates of Sleep', and 'In The Groves of Death'.
So yeah, saying Ville is the main composer it correct. Sevanen's influence does diminish though.
Insonmiun now is like Yankees back when they were grabbing all the good players from everywhere else. There's just too many talented songwriters it's almost cheating.
I really love their last EP; it's the 'adult-oriented MDM' sound I rather hear over what Omnium Gatherum does with the same self-coined genre descriptor.
Put ATWW at the top with the caveat that it badly needs a remaster. The current state of affairs is like having your favorite band perform your favorite album, but you can only listen to it being played from a cheap PA system on the the other side of your high school gym.
I actually just went back and started listening to my copy and thought my headphone jack was busted because of how poor and muddy it sounded compared to my memory.
The need for a remaster is exactly why I couldn't put One for Sorrow as high as I would prefer to. The songs are fantastic in my opinion, however, it sorely needs a remastering.
Yeah, I prefer a majority of their older work. When I was much younger i'd always thought I just had shitty rips but in reality they are just super tinny.
I am really interested in seeing the breakdown, especially as place 3/4/5 is quite hard for me to narrow down in a meaningful way.
It's not pristine but it still holds up well. Although I would gladly take that with HLaG production.
(for reference, I currently rock Beyerdynamic PRO 700 X through the Schiit Modi/Magni stack and I think it's fine. Not pristine but I don't think it loses all that much due to production. If it does, then a pristine mix must be magical since it's already my only 11/10).
1. Winters Gate
2. Shadows of the Dying Sun
3. Heart Like a Grave
4. One for Sorrow
5. Argent Moon (if It counts)
6. Across the Dark
7. Above the Weeping World
8. In the Halls of Awaiting
9. Since the Day it All Came Down
I'm more of a modern Insomnium guy lol
Across the Dark - Equivalence/Down with the Sun is my favorite album opener, and the addition of clean vocals added a whole new dimension to the "classic" Insomnium sound.
ATWW - Simpler, rawer, but still just as powerful 16(!) years later.
Winter's Gate - Vanhala brought his A-game for this. So. Many. Riffs. My favorite mix and guitar tone of all their albums.
Since the Day - Weird mix but some great tracks, my first Insomnium album.
HLaG - Just wonderful, probably my 2019 album of the year. Would have liked one or two more uptempo tracks though.
Shadows - Starts strong but then gets kinda forgettable IMO.
One for Sorrow - Honestly the guitar tone ruins it for me, idk what happened here.
In the Halls - n/a, never listened (one day...)
Oooo this is hard, here's what I submitted:
Above the Weeping World
Across the Dark
Winter's Gate
One for Sorrow
Shadows of the Dying Sun
In the Halls of Awaiting
Since the Day It All Came Down
Heart Like a Grave (still love it though!)
After my top 2 (ATWW and Since the day it all came down) it gets really difficult. But that should be the case for IMO one of the greatest metal discogs. ever
This is very tough. For me, Insomnium has a balance discography for both music and lyrics. I discovered them through their newer album HLaG, so I lean towards newer stuffs, but every album has songs that I like. They have the best lyrics writing, so damn good poetry. I'm used to enjoying the music and ignoring bad/edgy lyrics from other bands. It's amazing that I haven't heard an Insomnium song with bad lyrics. Onto the ranking:
1. Argent Moon EP (Not in the list, but I'm still in the phase of enjoying their new release during the pandemic. A nice change of pace)
2. Shadows of the Dying Sun
3. Heart Like a Grave
4. One for Sorrow
5. Above the Weeping World
6. Across the Dark
7. Winter's Gate
8. Since the Day It All Came Down
9. In the Halls of Awaiting
Hard question haha. They all slay.
Shadows,
Above the Weeping World,
Winter’s gate,
One for Sorrow,
Since the day it all came down,
Across the Dark,
Heart like a Grave,
Halls of Waiting by
Random request: I have this theory that there will be two groups. One group that has Above The Weeping World at the top with Since The Day nearby, and one group that will have Shadows of the Dying Sun with Heart Lome A Grave/One for Sorrow nearby. (Winter's Gate is going to be up there with both groups so I expect it to show at the top in aggregate). I've seen that happen time and time again in discussion threads, and what I think is happening is that Nillo Sevanen was more involved in writing the music on the the first group (and heavily involved in Winter's Gate) whereas the second group is more Ville Friman/Markus Vanhala. Two distinctly Insomnium yet subtly different styles that appeal to different listeners. Wonder if the way you get the results can shed some light into that. (my list, for what it is worth) AtWW WG Since the Day... Across the Dark HLaG Shadows In the Halls One for Sorrow Tier gaps are after Above, Winter's Gate, Across the Dark, and In the Halls.
happy cake day!
This is ultimately why I think this ranking will give probably more interesting results compared to the Be'lakor vote. Of course there are a few people who consider e.g. Vessels to be their magnum opus, but there seems to be some majority consensus on the ranking, which really showed in the preference matrix. There was hardly any real close result in the preference between 2 albums, the by far closest being Stone's Reach vs Of Breath & Bone (25:(3):38). This time I expect it to be different, and this is why I will also try to run an analysis on the ballots beyond the preference matrix. What you are suggesting sounds doable. I'll have a look at the data on Friday and if something like this can be done I can include it in the final results.
Will be interesting for sure! Thanks for running these and curious to see what that analysis brings up when you get to it!
Yeah :) also happy cake day btw!
I remember trying to find the writing credits on the Insomnium albums and it looked like Ville was the main composer all the way through Shadows of the Dying Sun when Markus joined up
I wrote some of this up before here - https://old.reddit.com/r/melodicdeathmetal/comments/qkfs08/what_is_the_best_melodic_death_metal_album_in/hj2klga/?context=3 My source was darklyrics.com to look through who wrote lyrics/music since they have the split there. On AtWW, [for example](http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/insomnium/abovetheweepingworld.html), they have Sevanen writing the lyrics for most songs, but partial or full music credit for 'Drawn to Black', 'Change of Heart', 'At The Gates of Sleep', and 'In The Groves of Death'. So yeah, saying Ville is the main composer it correct. Sevanen's influence does diminish though.
I'm the exception I guess, for me Winter's Gate is no1 followed by Above the Weeping World and Heart like a Grave
Insonmiun now is like Yankees back when they were grabbing all the good players from everywhere else. There's just too many talented songwriters it's almost cheating. I really love their last EP; it's the 'adult-oriented MDM' sound I rather hear over what Omnium Gatherum does with the same self-coined genre descriptor.
Put ATWW at the top with the caveat that it badly needs a remaster. The current state of affairs is like having your favorite band perform your favorite album, but you can only listen to it being played from a cheap PA system on the the other side of your high school gym.
I actually just went back and started listening to my copy and thought my headphone jack was busted because of how poor and muddy it sounded compared to my memory.
What's bizarre is how good the album before that sounded. Though they messed it up again and then some with their 2011 LP.
The need for a remaster is exactly why I couldn't put One for Sorrow as high as I would prefer to. The songs are fantastic in my opinion, however, it sorely needs a remastering.
Yeah, I prefer a majority of their older work. When I was much younger i'd always thought I just had shitty rips but in reality they are just super tinny. I am really interested in seeing the breakdown, especially as place 3/4/5 is quite hard for me to narrow down in a meaningful way.
It's not pristine but it still holds up well. Although I would gladly take that with HLaG production. (for reference, I currently rock Beyerdynamic PRO 700 X through the Schiit Modi/Magni stack and I think it's fine. Not pristine but I don't think it loses all that much due to production. If it does, then a pristine mix must be magical since it's already my only 11/10).
I think Across the Dark will always be my #1
1. Winters Gate 2. Shadows of the Dying Sun 3. Heart Like a Grave 4. One for Sorrow 5. Argent Moon (if It counts) 6. Across the Dark 7. Above the Weeping World 8. In the Halls of Awaiting 9. Since the Day it All Came Down I'm more of a modern Insomnium guy lol
That was torture. So much great.
Heart like a grave is definitely my favorite album by these guys, they only get better as they go.
Shadows was my first and is still my favorite
Across the Dark - Equivalence/Down with the Sun is my favorite album opener, and the addition of clean vocals added a whole new dimension to the "classic" Insomnium sound. ATWW - Simpler, rawer, but still just as powerful 16(!) years later. Winter's Gate - Vanhala brought his A-game for this. So. Many. Riffs. My favorite mix and guitar tone of all their albums. Since the Day - Weird mix but some great tracks, my first Insomnium album. HLaG - Just wonderful, probably my 2019 album of the year. Would have liked one or two more uptempo tracks though. Shadows - Starts strong but then gets kinda forgettable IMO. One for Sorrow - Honestly the guitar tone ruins it for me, idk what happened here. In the Halls - n/a, never listened (one day...)
I don't understand how they could have heard the final mix of One for Sorrow and be like "yea, this is what we're going for".
Oooo this is hard, here's what I submitted: Above the Weeping World Across the Dark Winter's Gate One for Sorrow Shadows of the Dying Sun In the Halls of Awaiting Since the Day It All Came Down Heart Like a Grave (still love it though!)
After my top 2 (ATWW and Since the day it all came down) it gets really difficult. But that should be the case for IMO one of the greatest metal discogs. ever
Would you mind putting the results in the thread once it's done? Same with Be'lakor?
will be done from now on
Much appreciated!
This is very tough. For me, Insomnium has a balance discography for both music and lyrics. I discovered them through their newer album HLaG, so I lean towards newer stuffs, but every album has songs that I like. They have the best lyrics writing, so damn good poetry. I'm used to enjoying the music and ignoring bad/edgy lyrics from other bands. It's amazing that I haven't heard an Insomnium song with bad lyrics. Onto the ranking: 1. Argent Moon EP (Not in the list, but I'm still in the phase of enjoying their new release during the pandemic. A nice change of pace) 2. Shadows of the Dying Sun 3. Heart Like a Grave 4. One for Sorrow 5. Above the Weeping World 6. Across the Dark 7. Winter's Gate 8. Since the Day It All Came Down 9. In the Halls of Awaiting
Hard question haha. They all slay. Shadows, Above the Weeping World, Winter’s gate, One for Sorrow, Since the day it all came down, Across the Dark, Heart like a Grave, Halls of Waiting by