Insomnia

Insomnia, so far the odd one out, in the entire discography of Deinonychus. With Insomnia we see them venturing in doom death territories, whereas before they had a distinct sound, unlike any other doom formation out there, now they get in line, standing firmly next to other doom death formations, while still retaining some of that typical Deinonychus spark, something which is genuinely Deinonychus and forms the core of their sound. As always, the one thing that really stands out, is the rather incredible - or insane, if you like - voice of Marco. During their previous works, insane would have definitely been an accurate discription, almost having a whiny feel to it, an everlasting lament, that pierces through your skin, making it's way to the depths of your inner-self. That aspect is still present, although somewhat lessened in effect, but added with some death flavoured style, giving the entire album a more agressive touch.


Still present is the symphonic element, but also perhaps, a bit less on the foreground, than before, but still perfectly executed and it just adds another dimension to the already rich sound. The drumming stands out as well, mostly slowly progressing, but here and there we encounter some more up-tempo parts and even some nasty blast beats. All of the songs are of high quality and very consistent, though two of them stand out, the first being To Diagnose the Fortunes of Paranoia Consuming Consciousness and Sanity, which starts of rather ordinary, a faster build-up with the typical symphonic sound entering the mix, but then all instruments stop and a symphonic part crawls up, setting the beginning for an insane part, filled with anguish and suffering. This is an excellent display of how the build-up makes you feel rather at ease, even safe and all of a sudden that image is utterly destroyed and the mind wanders off to the darkest corners. The other highlight goes by the name, Reasons to Open your Eyelids and Awake the Apocalypse Iris is Telling You, a subtle wink to their previous works and thus offering a more blackened doom approach, mainly in the vocal area.


After Insomnia we see Marco and co again venturing in slightly different territory, something which they have been doing their entire musical career, always slightly reinventing aspects of their music while still retaining the core elements that have made Deinonychus so great. They deserve all the respect and are one of the major players in the doom scene of today. Insomnia is a must-have for every metalhead!

This album is awesome. I was already impressed by Deinonychus' 2002 album Mournument, but Insomnia is far stronger and more coherent. Although shorter in length than Mournument, the album feels whole; each track is a fully realized piece of music. Additionally, the music on Insomnia is more diverse than that of Mournument. While keeping with Deinonychus' sprawling, monolithic style of Doom, Insomnia has an epic, emotional feeling to it, reminiscent of bands like Weakling or Wolves in the Throne Room. The guitars are crushing, the keyboard subtle and chilling, and the sludge is broken by occasional death/black metal parts that add to the atmosphere rather than distract the listener. No guitar solos, no frills. The vocals, as on Mournument, are in perfect complement with the music- guttural roars, painful wails, and mournful sung passages. When the music drops out, and Kehren is left screaming into silence, you realize this is Doom at its best. One of my favorites.