Insomnium 3 years after the excellent "Above The Weeping World" release their 4th full-length album entitled "Across The Dark". The melodic death metal quartet from Joensuu, Finland had so far released 3 albums of high quality, unfortunately without getting the recognition and acceptance they deserve. The expectations their previous albums had created were very high, and "Across The Dark" manages to fulfill them.

Insomnium remain in this album faithful to their roots and their sound, perfectly combining the classic melodic death metal sound of Gothenburg with some doom-inspired riffs. The past years, their melodies have become more melancholic and the sound is overall much darker, something that is obvious in "Across The Dark". The keyboards contributed to this, especially after the guest participation of the keyboardist of Swallow The Sun, Aleksi Munter. The lyrics continue to speak about sorrow, death, love and loss. Another new feature is the, although limited, use of clean vocals from the other guest Jules Näveri (Profane Omen, Enemy of the Sun) in 3 songs, binding successfully with the death vocals of vocalist Niilo Sevanen. In general the whole band gives its best.

"Across The Dark" begins with the 3-minute "Equivalence" which is more an introduction than a song leading beautifully to the great "Down With The Sun" (for this one a video clip was filmed) which is one of the highlights of the record and typical sample of their sound. "Where The Last Wave Broke" and "The Harrowing Years" follow up at the same high level with impressive choruses that combine excellently death and clean vocals. One of the best songs is "Against The Stream" with  beautiful riffs and many clever melodies to give and go magnetizing the listener. The 9-minute "The Lay Of Autumn" is the song with the doom elements in the album combined with excellent turns between powerful and melodic riff and slow and melancholic parts (Clean vocals are also used in this song). The album closes in the best way with "Weighted Down With Sorrow" which surprises with a melancholic violin intro and enchants with its brilliant melodies and incredible lyrics.

"Across The Dark" is an enjoyable album from the first until the last song. I highly recommend it to the fans of melodic death metal and fans of  bands like Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, At The Gates etc. Insomnium deserve your attention and a place among the best melodic death metal bands.