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insomniumBackstage, Munich, Germany
27th November 2019
Insomnium - “Tour Like A Grave” 2019 - Support: Black Dahlia Murder, Stam1na

Spearhead of Melodic Death Metal, the grim harbingers of Finnish melancholy, INSOMNIUM have released their 8th studio-album worldwide on October 4th 2019 through CENTURY MEDIA. Time for a promotion tour in Europe and INSOMNIUM made sure to bring us an amazing support from their home country, Finland’s fiercest quintet STAM1NA and Metal kings THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER from the USA.


Stam1na

Finnish Metal phenomenon STAM1NA have achieved nearly everything a Rock band can achieve in Finland. Each of their eight albums have sold Gold (one Platinum) and the band has played hundreds and hundreds of mostly sold out shows all over the country. Now STAM1NA is also expanding its fan base all over the world and will be part of the 70,000 Tons Of Metal Cruise’s line-up in 2020. STAM1NA perform in Finnish and are currently on their “Octopussy” tour, supporting INSOMNIUM in Europe and playing some headliner shows in Finland in December. Talking to the band, I learned that there are plans to go back to the studio next year that seems to become a very busy one. http://www.stam1na.com / https://www.facebook.com/Stam1naOfficial

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Music & Performance
It’s always confusing to me that STAM1NA are announced as a support band for events in Europe, for I know them as an amazing headliner in Finland and whenever they announce a gig in Helsinki, you should make sure you get our ticket immediately for the gigs are sold out immediately. The five very sympathetic guys from Finland sing in Finnish and since I don’t speak the language, I’m grateful for any translating programs to find out what the lyrics are about. The band got the first slot on tonight’s running order and I was surprised how many people were in the pit already. When the band came on stage, I inwardly implored then not to play ‘Enkelinmurskain’ while I was in the media pit making photos, for it is my favourite song from the current album ‘Taival’ (They made an amazing video, dig it!) and I wanted to rock with the crowd.

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If friends from abroad ask me how on earth I can like a band that sings in a language I’m not familiar with, I simply ask them “Well, you like RAMMSTEIN. Do you understand the lyrics?” STAM1NA’s riffs and vocals are so energetic, that you don’t need to understand the lyrics, just listen to the music and let yourself get carried away. STAM1NA won over Munich immediately and you could see raised fists and banging heads in the crowd. During the first songs the mix was a bit muddy, then too focused on bass but afterwards the sound engineer found a good compromise but Backstage is a bit tricky coming to the mix, so all in all he did a solid job. STAM1NA always play with wet hair and since it dries due to the heat and all the head-banging on stage, the guys use their water bottles to soak their manes appropriately, so it’s quite a challenge to make good photos while the lens of your camera gets splashed.

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During the small breaks between the songs, the band entertained us with their language skills and the crowd replied very positively to that. I’m pretty sure they won over many new fans tonight. I was lucky and my favourite song was the last one they played, delivering a kickass performance. For a support band they got an applause and a cheering from the audience that is remarkable for Munich on a Wednesday evening. Guys please come back son with a longer setlist, you have such an amazing back catalogue that deserves attention from the German Metal heads. After the show, the band was at the merch table and ready to sign records etc. and take photos with the fans and there were quite a lot of people who showed up there. I always appreciate, if a band is ready to get in touch with the fans and this evening made them even more sympathetic in my books.

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I really hope I can attend the show in Helsinki, where STAM1NA get the attention they truly deserve.

Setlist
01. Paha Arkkitehti
02. Suede Tulevat
03. Valitaan Uudet Vaatet
04. Masiina
05. Piene Vihreät
06. Kannoin Sinut Läpi Hiljaisen
07. Viisi Laukausta
08. Enkelinmurskain

Rating
Music: 10
Performance: 10
Light: 09
Sound: 9
Total: 9.5 / 10

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Black Dahlia Murder

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Setlist
01. Widowmaker
02. Jars
03. Contagion
04. Miasma
05. Martiarch
06. Warborn
07. Horrible Night
08. Nightbringers
09. As Good As Dead
10. Stirring Seas
11. Kings
12. Everything
13. Deathmask
http://www.tbdmofficial.com / https://www.facebook.com/theblackdahliamurderofficial


Insomnium

INSOMNIUM are a Melodic Metal band from Finland, in July Jani Liimatainen (THE DARK ELEMENT, Ex SONATA ARTICA) joined the band just in time for the release of their latest album ‘Heart Like A Grave’ that made it No.1 in Finland. http://www.insomnium.net / http://www.facebook.com/insomniumofficial

Music & Performance
I cannot recall the year I listened to INSOMNIUM for the first time but they are on my playlist ever since. Earlier this year I went to Finland to attend “An Evening of Rock Classics” for I really appreciated Jani Liimatainen’s and Timo Kotipelto’s ‘Blackcoustic’ project. Of course I was curious how the “new” INSOMNIUM would be like. To make it short, Jani is a great addition to INSOMIUM’s great musicians and since he’s also great on vocals, INSOMNIUM’s quality of backing and leading vocals during the live shows really increased a lot. It’s good to see Jani back on stage and playing Metal again, but to be honest the acoustic version of ‘One For Sorrow’ was my personal highlight of the overall fantastic evening. But let’s start from the beginning.

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There was fog, lots of fog and you could see worried faces in the media pit, but you can trust Backstage’s wind machines and as soon as the intro stopped and INSOMNIUM came on stage, the fog subsided slowly. INSOMNIUM seemed to be in great spirits and the spark ignited immediately. ‘Valediction’ was the perfect opener and I really have to thank the band for not only focussing on taking over Backstage but also posing for the photographers. The sound was really good and whenever I took a short break from taking photos I wished I could join the rocking crowd immediately. When the photo-time was over, the band still kept posing and often changed the standing points on stage so everyone could seem them. We are talking Melodic Metal and there was so much metal on stage, great guitar riffs, head-banging and well dosed drums, sometimes forcing, sometimes thundering and sometimes well-dosed in the background and still the vocals were really clear.

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The setlist was a good mix of classics from their vast catalogue of songs but lacking releases from the time between 2002 and 2004. Although the new album has been released only a few weeks ago, the fans in Munich already knew the lyrics by heart. The band frequently addressed the people and this was highly appreciated by the fans who really let the music carry them away. It was hot, it was sweaty it was amazing and when the band left the stage, the encore was demanded immediately. INSOMNIUM treated Munich with a fireworks of wonderful songs ‘While We Sleep’ among them and I was grateful I caught a glimpse on the setlist earlier, so I could find a point with good sound and superior view, when it was time for ‘One For Sorrow’. Acoustic live versions show, how good a musician really is on instruments or vocals and INSOMNIUM proved they are superior.

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The band had to silence with words and gestures the crowd that was so energized to make sure everyone could hear the song and it was really funny to hear Metal heads on stage and in the pit making “Ssssshhhhh” and finally it was mute enough so we could enjoy an amazing performance of THE TWO COWBOYS aka Jani Liimatainen and Markus Vanhala who got one of the loudest cheering and applause of that night. Then the whole band came back on stage to give everything they could to make us bang our heads to ‘Heart Like A Grave’ their current single and Munich gave back everything we could. When the show was over I saw many familiar Metal heads looking worn out when leaving the pit and we all hope that INSOMIUM will be back in Munich soon (guys could you please bring STAM1NA again?).

Setlist
01. Valediction
02. Neverlast
03. Into the Woods
04. Through the Shadows
05. Pale Morning Star
06. Change of Heart
07. And Bells They Toll
08. Mute Is My Sorrow
09. Ephemeral
10. Groves
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11. Primeval
12. While We Sleep
13. One For Sorrow (acoustic)
14. Heart Like a Grave

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 10
Light: 10
Sound: 10
Total: 9.8 / 10

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All Pictures by Munich Vampire

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