Regarding your question about the lyrical concept of the album. The lyrics are based on the bassist/vocalist's acclaimed short story called winters gate. Basically a group of vikings end up opening the gates of winter and unleashing all of winter's furor while searching for a mythical treasure. The lyrics are a kind of an abridged/poetic version of that story. The book was sold with the album when it was released back in 2016. So no worries if you didn't get what it was about, it's not really obvious unless you know the backround. Really enjoyed your reaction!

@BaldHeadedMETAL

2 жыл бұрын

Wow he is a writer that makes sense about all the lyrics in insomnium.

A summary of the story of this song. Spoilers ahead: A group of Vikings finds an old man while sailing along the coast who tries to bargain for his life by promising to take them to an island full of riches. On the island they find an abandoned village and lots of huge gold statues depicting grim beasts like giants and six legged monster wolves, but they can't move them. They also find a gigantic gate in the side of the lone mountain that stands on the island, but can't open it. They come across a little girl native to the island and capture her, hoping she will give them clues as to how to enter the gate. At night a terrible snow storm starts and the great gate swings open. The terrified girl flees and leads the Viking leader's son, who is grieving for his wife and child, to her family's hideout in a hidden cave. It turns out that the people of this island have to wait out winter in hiding as during that season the beasts depicted by the statues pour out of the gate and prowl the island. The Vikings are taunted by the old man who turns out was some sort of local deity, leading them into a trap as revenge for their raids. They are all slaughtered by the monsters from inside the gate. Only the leader's son survives, finding peace and a potential new home and family with the inhabitants of the island, falling into a deep sleep to basically hybernate until spring.

@ariantaghdiri7937

Жыл бұрын

Hey man. Thanks a lot for the summary. Now I really want to read this story. Is there a way i can have access to it digitally?

Such an underrated album. I can't believe this video doesn't have half a million views. Well done!

Did not expect a full album REACTION. Well done brother, and thank you!

@BaldHeadedMETAL

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching i really appreciate it!

24:28 this is imo the best transition from a calm peaceful vibe to suddenly opening hell's gates and flipping the mood around

One of my favorite Bands. Insomnium is my favorite Melodic Death Metal Band. Winters gate is more a Song that a Album great Musik.

I have no words. TY.

@BaldHeadedMETAL

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching :D

It's such a breath of fresh air to hear LoDDoD mentioned, one of if not the most underrated prog metal albums. Insomnium mentioned many times that they drew heavy inspiration from EoS's Crimson, but similarities with that album seemed to only include concept and format from my perspective. Musically, it feels closer to the other.

I love this album, during the pandemic doing exams in my house, because of noise neighbors , I put this album in my earphones . And dude that was awesome

Nice reaction mate. As comments before mentioned, Winter's Gate is based on Niilo Sevänen's short story/novella of the same name. He mentioned in an interview that the main musical inspiration for the album was Edge of Sanity's similarly 40-minute concept album Crimson from 1996 (and appropriately EoS frontman Dan Swanö produced this album). According to some interviews songwriting was split between Sevänen, Vanhala and Friman and they kind of coincidentally ended up writing parts with similar tempo and mood, which helped them to put it altogether very smoothly.

@BaldHeadedMETAL

2 жыл бұрын

Edge of sanity is a band my brother has been on my case for me to check out!

been waiting for this! yes the transitions.. one of the things that made me love this album. i can't wait to hear the sound that they will bring to their next album, which as Niilo said in an interview, that is probably a combination of winter’s gate and heart like a grave. heaviness seems to be coming :D great reaction/review as always. thank you!

Thank you for a great reaction and review! The story is based on a graphical novel written by vocalis/bassist Niilo and i think it would be rather easy to set an interview with him. Niilo writes very poetic lyrics in an interesting way, i appreciate enormously his usage of archaic words that are not used so much in morden english langauge anymore. Last time i heard of Niilo, he was working in the museum as a curator. Guitarist, Dr Ville Friman is a lecturer in the university of york. So despite being busy people, they manage to push out great music constantly and fans sure are happy that we don't have to wait 5 years between albums. You mentioned in some reaction that you are going to do full reaction on Heart Like a Grave album. Now that you have heard an ep and an concept album, i think a thematic album like Heart like a Grave, which is very dark and heavy would do a disservice to your current mindset. If you loved Vessels by Be'Lakor and Through the shadows song by insomnium, i'd firmly suggest Shadows of the Dying Sun album next. I think after that you have tasted everything that insomnium has to offer, except maybe their early more folky stuff. I just have this hunch, that a more uplifting and ethereal experience would be the best place for you to go next with Insomnium.

@BaldHeadedMETAL

2 жыл бұрын

I should try actually i didnt know how to contact him.

I have to admit: When it comes to reaction-videos like this one or YT-channels like yours in general, there are 3 aspects I particularly appreciate: 1) honesty 2) enthusiasm 3) competence With regard to 1), I think we can agree that this is a true focus of yours, as you point out in the introductions of many of your videos. Take for example your reactions to Lovebites - an amazing band with a vast following, but still you have the audacity to state your honest opinion, what you like and what you dislike about them. I respect that. About 2): On the other hand, you are not ashamed, either, to reveal when you are really into something, when you get goosebumps. when you are touched, when some parts surprise or excite you. I find this very inspiring - and rare - that I always have the impression that what you share is genuine. 3) There are not many KZreadrs who take on the challenge of reacting to a 40-minutes 1-song-album. And yet you not only do this, but you also manage to spontaneously draw the correct conclusions and include references to bands like Opeth. Mad Kudos! What I want to point out: This album is a unique masterpiece, and I really enjoyed your adequate reaction to it.

@BaldHeadedMETAL

2 жыл бұрын

Man going to make me blush here lol...i really really appreciate that! I realize sometimes the disagremments can be hard to hear when i really dont like something and i can get defensive or emotional. But i metal music so much i try my best to be respectful and insightful to the best of my ability!

You warned You're really critical... And then just went all goosepumps 😂 I think Insomnium is truly one of The best ones out there. And that's quite something, considering how many good metal bands Finland has

This album might be the bands best display of talent. But I agree, this album don't have that wow-factor. This is no doubt more of a slowburner. You'll get hooked on their "traditional" albums and come back here for the artistry.

@BaldHeadedMETAL

2 жыл бұрын

i can see that. Happens alot right we tend to come back to albums and appreciate them more as time passes.

It's a great album that grew on me quite late. Maybe the concept itself of a one song album wasn't too appealing for me, but once you get the time to listen, it's beautiful. I still prefer Shadows of a Dying Sun album or Heart Like a Grave, there's more variety to a classic album. You really feel the winter hearing this "song" :-) Thank you for reacting to this one ! :-)

@BaldHeadedMETAL

2 жыл бұрын

Its just awesome to know they got this much range!

@adriantoma9405

2 жыл бұрын

@@BaldHeadedMETAL Ineed, they are so complex musicians that have kept evolving and changing but for the sake of music, not necesarily for our sake. Hei..I can't believe it I almost forgot to terrorize you with Insomnium's brilliant instrumental, Beyond the horizon :-)) (the fan made video fits perfectly).

I absolutely love this album. I usually listen to it when I'm walking on the mountains of Iceland, with the frozen wind on my face and looking at the landscape. Best feeling ever. By the way, I believe they did play the whole album on a live stream during the pandemic.

@BaldHeadedMETAL

2 жыл бұрын

Thats me and Immort - At The Heart Of Winter in New York. Not as beutiful though lol

Saw them play the album live in October 2016 on a club in Helsinki. Two part set, this being the first part. No words spoken at all, just the whole album played straight. Then after a small break, into good old Insomnium medley for a great second (full) set... Unbelievable night.

Thanks for checking out Winter's Gate! While I love the full album, I do enjoy parts 1-3 the most with part 2 also being my absolute standout favorite. The album clicked with me on my first listen but I gained even more appreciation for the album once I understood the story being told through the lyrics. The music really amplifies the tragic story being told and brought this album to new heights for me. The story is about a group of Vikings who set out to find a fabled island west of Ireland, despite the treacherous winter drawing near. Winter's Gate is a great album but my favorite Insomnium albums are actually Shadows of the Dying Sun and Heart Like a Grave. You should check out more songs from those in the future.

@BaldHeadedMETAL

2 жыл бұрын

Will do and DUDE your name and icon! Metal Gear Solid is my favorite game of all time i got MGS4 special edition signed by kojima!

@foxhound8155

2 жыл бұрын

@@BaldHeadedMETAL MGS4 signed by Kojima, that is awesome! Yea, Metal Gear Solid is also my favorite game series. I can't pick my favorite between MGS 1, 2, or 3. I am actually planning to re-play the series from start to finish again, it has been a while since I have last played the games.

I think you were thinking in FREE BIRD - LYNRYD SKYNYRD that masterpiece is 14 minutes long, and i love it

If you want to see black metal version of insomnium, you should check out Belzebubs - Cathedrals of Mourning. They have same vocalist with insomnium (Niilo sevänen) and in my opinion there might be some other guys from insomnium too, probably their solo guitarist Markus vanhala.

@ozgur8636

2 жыл бұрын

And they have a funny animation clip for the song as well.

They have played this whole album live during their Tour.

This album is MASTER quality on TIDAL. It's breathtaking!

They played whole album together with Joensuu city orchestra at ilosaarirock 2017. The best gig i have been in!

"Tug at your heartstrings" I find it impressive when only done with instrumental at the beginning.

@BaldHeadedMETAL

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed!

Great full album reaction of this absolute masterpiece! If you like heavy and melodic, I would highly recommend Beyond (2013) by Omnium Gatherum. Please react if you haven't listened to it.

@BaldHeadedMETAL

2 жыл бұрын

i havent been a fan of what i heard from omnium gatherum. Its not bad or anything just doesnt grab my attention fopr some reason. I know they are really loved!

@BaldHeadedMETAL

2 жыл бұрын

i can always do reactions to songs but i thought i should point that out

Would you react to Earthside and "All You Knew and Ever Loved"?

@BaldHeadedMETAL

2 жыл бұрын

Added :D

And it's just a one song. It's not separated in any way on the album

@BaldHeadedMETAL

2 жыл бұрын

So just like green carnation or edge of sanity's albums

@Appalakki13

2 жыл бұрын

@@BaldHeadedMETAL Exactly. I got to say that I have to appreciate that you take an hour of your time just to listen to an album that people suggested. Also I appreciate the fact that you're reacting to more of the underground stuff , which necessarily won't get a lot of views , but still deserves attention. Passion for metal music is in short supply these days and it's great to see people who truly appreciate it.

@BaldHeadedMETAL

2 жыл бұрын

@@Appalakki13 i try to find a balance to the views and things i been waiting to check out. I tend to like underground stuff more personally. Thank you for your support you guys really encourage me here!

Almost full reaction, as you weirdly skipped the ending? lol what

Man, what a bad reaction you just did. you skipped the ending, one of the best parts of the album and the one that gives meaning to the whole story. impatience is what invaded you to finish it