Insomnium woke up Tokyo
Finland is a heavy metal superpower and Insomnium is one of its finest ambassadors. The band’s return to Japan after an eight-year absence was triumphant.
Insomnium at Space Odd in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan on 14th May 2025
As Insomnium entered the stage, the energy was over the top. Guitarist Markus Vanhala was on fire. His seemingly unlimited energy immediately spread to the audience. It was obvious that we were in for a ride this evening in Tokyo. Finland is proper and its metalheads are dead serious about spreading the heavy metal gospel.
Insomnium – consisting of Niilo Sevänen (bass and vocals), Markus Hirvonen (drums) and guitarists Ville Friman and Markus Vanhala – plays melodic death metal with some distinctly Finnish twists in the form of folk metal touches and heaps of melancholy shining through in both the music and the band’s trademark lyrical themes. They are one of the very best metal bands in Finland. Combining Finnish melancholy with heaps of energy is an art in itself.
The setlist spanned the band’s career. It featured four songs from the band’s most recent album, the brilliant “Anno 1696”: “1696”, “Lilian”, “The Witch Hunter” and “White Christ”. We also go four songs from 2019’s “Heart Like a Grave”: “And Bells They Toll”, “Twilight Trails”, “Valediction” and the title track.
An obvious highlight in the set was “Unsung” from the “One for Sorrow” album (2011). Another fabulous peak was “Mortal Share” from 2006’s “Above the Weeping World”. But perhaps the evening’s winner was “Song of the Dusk”.
A great, high-energy show finished with an untouchable encore consisting of “The Primeval Dark”, “While We Sleep” and “Heart Like a Grave”. What a triumph! Finnish melancholic metal at its best! Once again, I am contemplating moving to a log cabin by a Finnish lake to launch a fanzine focused solely on Finnish heavy metal. Finland for the win!
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