Live: Insomnium and Oceans Of Slumber in NYC
July 3, 2018
Back in November, Insomnium announced an extensive North American tour beginning May 2018. Many fans were ecstatic to hear the additional news that the band will play their Winter\’s Gate album in full. They promised they’d also throw in some classics afterward. Insomnium is a melodic death band from Finland.
Oceans of Slumber, a diverse metal band from Houston Texas was billed as their opening act. The Gramercy Theater in NYC was the perfect venue for these groups. The sound tonight was perfect and since I was already familiar with their four studio recordings, I was not expecting their live sound to be heavier.
The two guitarist, Sean Gary, and Anthony Contreras are beasts on stage. They both have a stage presence and create a show within the show when they play. They are one of those bands that don\’t talk much, so they can allow the music to take over.
Oceans of Slumber was a great addition; Lead vocalist Cammie Gilbert cast a spell over the sold-out audience and mesmerized everyone with her voice. The only downside of their set was its short duration. The heartfelt music is undeniable, and it helps that the band clearly has a connection with each other. This band comes to the genre with a whole new game. Seeing them live is a must because they have the “It Factor.”
The headliner, Insomnium, was incredible. The vocals and guitars worked well with the venue. The pain and despair in the lyrics truly touched the audience and the two guitarists- Vile Friman and Markus Vanhala- showed incredible musicianship and were able to interact with the audience with little talk. They played the masterful album and the crowd was really into it and the audience response was strong, It was clear that the band was feeding off their vibe.
Song after song you could see the audience having an emotional attachment as tears were streaming down many faces in the crowd. When they\’ve reached the middle of their show, they performed the long-awaited “While We Sleep,” arguably the most popular song in the band\’s catalog.
At this point, many of the sound and lyrical themes of their music portray darkness, sorrow, loss, pain. Songs such as \”The Killjoy\” \”Weather the Storm\” til the end of the night with their encore \”Only One Who Waits\” shows that Insomium will always be rooted with being connected in expressing human emotion.
As the night ended a sense of release was shared among the crowd. As of this writing, Insomnium will have wrapped up their North American tour and they will have a little over a week of rest as they wait for a few festivals in Spain and Germany.
-Sebastian Benedict