The number of new releases is beginning to rise so time to crack on with some more reviews

Anno 1696 is the ninth (!) studio album from Insomnium and is probably my favourite since Shadows of the Dying Sun back in 2014

At just 8 tracks and 50 minutes long there isn’t an ounce of filler on the album and is based on a short story written by the singer (though if you weren’t told or looking at the lyrics may not be obvious)

The opening track 1696, is unusually for Insomnium, not an instrumental and has some of the most ferocious drumming I’ve heard from them.

There follow two tracks with two contrasting guest vocalists and highlights the strength of the band perfectly

White Christ features Sakis Tolis from Greek black metal legends Rotting Christ and is suitably dark in terms of vocals and lyrics though of a slower pace than expected.

The next song, Godforsaken, starts with the clear folk like vocals of Johanna Kurkela (who I last heard singing about Scrooge McDuck) before musically hitting it stride showing what Insomnium do so well – mixing the melodic guitars with the brutal vocals and drumming and quieter reflective passages.

Overall, there is a bit more of a blackened edge than recent releases and a dash more folk metal but in the end this is just a really good album of the genre.