A Musical Awakening With NIILO SEVANEN From INSOMNIUM

Interview by Kris Peters
It's been almost ten years since Finnish melodic death masters
Insomnium last graced Australian shores, but that means nothing now
with the band is set to bring their signature blend of haunting
melodies and crushing riffs to fans Down Under this May.
Founded in 1997 in the Karelian city of Joensuu, Insomnium first
gained recognition in 2002 with their wintry debut In the Halls of
Awakening. Quickly building on this with fierce death/doom
juggernaut Above the Weeping World (2006) or melancholic
masterpiece One for Sorrow (2012), the band surprised everyone with
their sublimely beautiful, achingly forlorn Argent Moon EP in 2021,
only to shed their skin once more with Anno 296 in 2023, proving
emphatically that Father time has no grip on pure metal.
HEAVY recently spent some time with bass player/unclean vocalist
Niilo Sevanen to get the rundown on what we can expect. We start by
asking what has changed with Insomnium in the eight years since we
last saw them.
"Well, our guitarists keep changing," he laughed. "Jani Liimatainen
left the band last year, or the previous year actually, and now we
have a touring member guitarist, Tomy Laisto, touring with us, and
he's an excellent friend of ours. Excellent player, very good
singer, super nice guy. And he's kind of a permanent live member at
the moment. Let's see what happens with our guitarist situation in
the future. But at least at the moment, we're touring with Tommy
and Australian's are going to get to witness his vocals and his
playing. I can promise he's an excellent guy."
For the benefit of those who may not have witnessed Insomnium live
before, we ask Sevanen to run us through a typical
performance.
"On the albums we are very serious and sad and melancholic and
dramatic," he began, "but I think the live show is more about
having fun. So we are having a good time there. We hope people are
enjoying too. It's a lot of headbanging and good times, and we try
to deliver a very energetic show every time, no matter how
jet-lagged or tired we would happen to be. But once you go on
stage, you forget everything, and you get your energy up and for
that hour or hour and a half, you'll be on and after that, it's
time to rest again. But for the shows, we give everything we've
got."
In the full interview, Niilo provided more details about their
current tour, expressing confidence in the live performance of the
new material, noting positive crowd reactions and describing the
shows as energetic and fun. Additionally, he mentioned their
collaboration with fellow Finnish band Omnium Gatherum, enhancing
the concert experience for fans.
Reflecting on the band's origins, Niilo recounted how he and Markus
started Insomnium in 1997 in Joensuu, Finland, inspired by melodic
death metal bands. He highlighted the vibrant 90s music scene in
Joensuu, and the challenges faced by aspiring musicians today.
Niilo explained the band's evolution from imitating their
influences to developing a unique sound that blends progressive
metal, black metal, folk metal, and doom metal.
He emphasized the organic nature of their creative process, where
all members contribute to songwriting and arrangements, ensuring
the music aligns with their identity, and more.


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