By Jonathan Smith

Across The Dark is the latest album from Finland’s Insomnium, and it is another entertaining showcase of the accessible and melodic death metal that the band does best. The feel of the album is similar to 2006′s Above The Weeping World, with opening track “Equivalence” serving as a tone-setting instrumental that leads into “Down With The Sun.” The guitars are central to Insomnium’s sound, with prominent lead licks forming the spine of many of the band’s songs. This doesn’t change on this release, and neither does anything else really. There’s still the same atmospheric moodiness throughout the album as a whole, as though it were written explicitly with windy, rainy days in mind. There’s a few occasions when Niilo Sevänen’s gravelly growls are accompanied by guest vocalist Jules Näveri (Enemy of the Sun), and though at first his cleaner style sounds a bit odd in direct comparison, it eventually starts to fit in. Overall, Across The Dark demonstrates very little growth or change, but it’s clear that the band is still playing out what works for them right now. As an album, it provides another collection of easily digestible and incredibly catchy metal perfect for when caught in a thunderstorm.

(Candlelight USA)