There is nothing better than spending dark winter months in an even darker place – an underground music venue under the railway arches, filled to the brim with people dressed in black. This is exactly where I found myself on Tuesday evening, clocking in my second gig of 2025. When I was arriving to HEAVEN, I could see the queue of faithful metalheads stretching to The Strand (and from what I heard it took quite a while to get through it due to what I suspect are new security measures following the club’s recent closure). They were all eager to witness Insomnium play their acclaimed 2014 album ‘Shadows of the Dying Sun’ in full, supported by fellow Finns Omnium Gatherum, also playing their album ‘Beyond’ in full. We were in for a double-header treat of full back-to-back albums.
Readers, I will level with you from the get-go – both bands were new to me. I’m lucky enough to be doing this [gestures at me typing while editing photos late at night] for the love of music, and part of that love means occasionally putting myself completely out of my comfort zone and going to see and photograph bands I have never heard of before. When I read the words ‘Finnish melodic, melancholy death metal’ – I was instantly sold. The moment I stepped into Heaven and scanned the room, I knew I was in for a treat. I instantly recognised some friendly faces and the ones that I didn’t recognise were so full of genuine love for the bands that I felt like this was a great company and we would all have a wonderful time.
I mentioned ‘double header’ because even though it wasn’t marketed as such, the audience was equally enamoured by the opening Omnium Gatherum as they were by Insomnium, and it felt like the whole venue sang both albums back to both bands from start to finish. Tuesday was was also the beginning of both bands’ epic tour of Europe, taking them across the continent for the remainder of January and culminating with a string of dates in their homeland in February, so the energy from the crowd as well as the musicians was high octane and infectious.
Omnium Gatherum‘s stage presence was simply a hoot. Vocalist Jukka Pelkonen had a brilliant rapport with the audience and his band, with frequent jokes ‘can you guess what songs we’re going to play next?’ never landing flat. He is a masterful frontman, commanding the room with ease and sense of humour and the crowd’s enthusiasm for each coming track was unwavering. He delivered growling, powerful vocals with impeccable precision. Elsewhere on the stage, the gig – and the tour – became a showcase for guitarist’s Markus Vanhala’s versatility, as he plays in both bands. The shifts between emotionally charged melodies and lyrics and ferocious, powerful riffs were seamless and the energy never faltered. Tracks like New Dynamic, Nightwalkers, The Unknowing and Living in Me were particular crowd favourites and the whole room headbanged or threw horns int he air in unison at Pelkonen’s command.
When I mentioned that ‘Finnish melodic death metal’ sold me on the gig, that’s because there was a period of my life when I was hooked on Nightwish for a whole summer – and when I say hooked on, I mean I didn’t listen to anything else. Omnium Gatherum strongly reminded me of those orchestral, near operatic melodies and I felt completely enveloped in their sound. ‘Beyond’ as an album is a coming home story and it certainly felt as if the band’s return to London was long awaited and very warmly received, and their sense of gratitude was palpable.
Soon it was time for Insomnium to take over the stage (which in Vanhala’s case meant a quick change of clothes) and treat us to ‘Shadows of the Dying Sun’ not only in full, but also performed by the original album line up, with Ville Friman joining Markus Vanhala on guitars. As we waited for them to take to the stage, I noticed the increased security presence in the photo pit in anticipation of crowd surfers. I thought to myself ‘crowd surfing at a melancholic melodeath? Surely not!’ Reader, was I wrong.
Niilo Sevänen’s guttural vocals delivered a precise, yet emotionally packed performance, proving why that album is regarded as a masterclass in melodic death metal (as I educated myself on the way home). Heaven was also the perfect setting – intimate enough, but with great a great stage and lighting that added to the immersive, enveloping experience. The opening triptych of The Primeval Dark, While We Sleep and Revelation sounded huge. It was clear as day that the audience was absolutely loving it – especially as hearing ‘Shadows of the Dying Sun’ from start to finish meant that some of the tracks were being performed live for the first time – either in a long time or genuinely never before. This was the case with Lose to Night and Collapsing Worlds, the fifth and sixth tracks on the album, which got the delighted crowd surfers going and they were soon coming through the pit barrier one by one.
Despite playing an whole album back to back, as the final notes of the closing Out to the Sea rang out, Insomnium weren’t quite finished yet and they surprised the room with encores in the shape of Lillian and One for Sorrow, which rounded the already excellent night off. Going into a melancholy melodic death metal gig, I wasn’t expecting to leave with a Cheshire Cat grin – but here we were. The Finns proved once again that they truly know how to deliver top tier melodic metal performance.
Insomnium Setlist
Venue: Heaven, London
Set:
- The Primeval Dark
- While We Sleep
- Revelation
- Black Heart Rebellion
- Lose to Night
- Collapsing Words
- The River
- Ephemeral
- The Promethean Song
- Shadows of the Dying Sun
- Out to the Sea
Set:
- Lilian
- One for Sorrow
Artists: Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum
