Only a handful of bands - melodic death metal or otherwise - reach their tenth studio album with the creative fire still burning white-hot. Fewer still manage to deliver the defining statement of their entire career. After nearly three decades and a catalogue filled with landmark releases, Insomnium have not only met that challenge - they've surpassed it.

Like a bolt of lightning tearing across the mist-shrouded forests of Karelia, Netherworlds arrives as the sound of Insomnium at their most complete and compelling. The Finnish masters of melancholic heaviness have refined every element of their signature style into something both devastatingly heavy and richly atmospheric. Towering riffs, sweeping melodies and moments of haunting fragility collide in a definitive statement of the band's identity.

Built upon the intricate guitar interplay of Markus Vanhala, Ville Friman and newest recruit Tomy Laisto, Netherworlds thrives on the tension between overwhelming heaviness and fragile beauty. Sweeping harmonies, crushing riff storms and evocative clean vocals collide with bassist-vocalist Niilo Sevänen's cavernous growls and Markus Hirvonen's thunderous yet nuanced drumming, carrying the listener through landscapes of epic grandeur and haunting vulnerability.

"As the autumn twilight descended in 2025, things had started slowly - but suddenly everything fell into place", Sevänen recalls. "Before we knew it, we found ourselves thinking: 'Wait a minute... we might actually have a pretty damn great album here!'"

"One of our goals was to take a couple of steps back towards the classic northern melancholy of albums like Shadows of the Dying Sun and Heart Like a Grave", continues Vanhala.

"Reaching album number ten naturally made us look back as well", Friman states. "You could say we adopted a bit of a 'Best Of' philosophy. It may sound like a cliché, but the goal was simple: write songs that capture everything people love about classic Insomnium—while still pushing the sound forward with a few new twists."

That delicate balance between familiarity and reinvention lies at the very heart of Netherworlds. Every hallmark of the Insomnium sound is instantly recognisable, yet nothing feels like a mere retread of what came before.

"The line between repeating yourself and embracing your own trademarks is a fine one", Vanhala says. "But there's nothing wrong with a band sounding recognisably like itself—as long as it never feels like you're simply copying your past."

Friman agrees. "Those recurring traits are what give a band its identity. Every songwriter steals from themselves now and then—or from their bandmates. That's inevitable. The important thing is making sure there's always something fresh alongside the familiar."

From the infectious first single "Shadowlife" to the sky-reaching grandeur of "Arch of the Sky", the ferocious "The Banished", the sprawling "The Hour Grows Late" - featuring Tomi Joutsen, Tomi Koivusaari and Santeri Kallio (Amorphis) - and the emotionally devastating finale "Journey's End", Netherworlds never loosens its grip.

"And to begin the descent into the Netherworlds, we decided to do something we'd never done before: record Insomnium's very first cover", Vanhala says. "Henry Purcell's centuries-old The Cold Song felt like the perfect way to open the gates. It's about freezing to death—and, according to the story, Purcell himself supposedly met the same fate after his wife wouldn't let him back into the house following a night at the pub. It doesn't get much more Insomnium than that."

If the music reconnects with the band's roots, the lyrics reach just as deeply into the dark heart of what has always defined Insomnium. After the sweeping historical narratives of Winter's Gate and Anno 1696, Netherworlds returns to more personal territory, exploring mortality, memory and the fleeting nature of life through older eyes.

"One particular song, Arch of the Sky, was inspired by the Sámi worldview and the eternal cycle of life", Friman reveals.

Once again, principal lyricist Niilo Sevänen immersed himself in classic literature while searching for the emotional landscape of Netherworlds.

"I read a great deal of poetry, both in Finnish and English, to find inspiration. Many of those poets carried a deep melancholy throughout their lives—and far too many of them left this world much too soon."

"We're still writing about love and death because they are the only themes vast enough to encompass everything", Sevänen says. "The difference is that we're no longer young men. As the years pass, loved ones fade into the mist and old friends return only in dreams. Our lyrics now travel through memories, nightmares and shadowy paths where reality gradually gives way to something more dreamlike. By the time we reach Journey's End, we've reached the inn of death—and found, at last, a sense of peace."

Netherworlds also marks the full-length studio debut of guitarist Tomy Laisto.

"Everything has worked brilliantly with Tomy", Sevänen says. "He plays and sings like an unholy archangel. At first he brought us these beautifully atmospheric demos, but then he hit us with the crushing The Banished and we were instantly sold."

Behind the scenes, Netherworlds also opens a new production chapter for Insomnium. Producer and engineer Miiro Varjus stepped in as the band's closest creative ally, while Swedish heavyweights Jens Bogren and Tony Lindgren of Fascination Street Studios once again handled the album's mix and mastering.

"Working with Miiro on my other band Cemetery Skyline convinced me he was exactly the right person for the job", Vanhala states.

"Miiro became an essential part of the whole process", Friman underlines. "He was constantly pushing us to dig deeper, challenging our ideas and helping shape the arrangements. Not every suggestion made the final cut, but every discussion made the album stronger."

For Insomnium, bringing Jens Bogren back behind the mixing desk was a complete no-brainer. "Jens mixed Heart Like a Grave, so there wasn't much to think about. He's a true master of his craft, and once again, he didn't disappoint", Sevänen smiles.

Completing the package is another milestone for the band: for the first time in Insomnium's career, the artwork comes courtesy of the renowned Travis Smith, whose unmistakable paintings capture the album's bleak beauty with uncanny precision.

"I kept sending Travis the lyrics as they were finished, and he immediately understood the emotional landscape behind them", Sevänen says. "He barely needed any direction at all—he just kept delivering masterpiece after masterpiece."

Even after ten songs of melancholic grandeur, the depths of Netherworlds have not yet been fully explored. The deluxe artbook edition reveals three additional tracks recorded during the same sessions.

"We simply ended up with too much great material for a single album, but we didn't want to make the main record unnecessarily long", Friman explains. "Think of the bonus tracks as the encore after the main performance."

Finns aren't exactly famous for self-congratulation, but even Insomnium admit they've come up with something extraordinary this time around.

"I'd give it a solid nine out of ten", Friman laughs. "There's always room to improve."

"When the final master arrived, I still found myself listening with a huge grin on my face," Sevänen says. "After months of living and breathing these songs, I was still drawn back into those dark landscapes. That's always the ultimate sign that you've created something special."

So, to conclude: what would be the perfect setting for walking the thirteen shadowy paths of Netherworlds? 

Vanhala doesn't hesitate: "Play it through the hearse stereo as your loved one embarks on their final journey from the mortuary. You won't have to create the atmosphere—it'll already be there!"

(Timo Isoaho)