BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Find Local//findlocal.community//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:19700308T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:19701101T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:bf213e17-048c-4425-b18b-620859367c7f@findlocal.community DTSTAMP:20261015T190928Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20261216T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20261216T203000 SUMMARY:Insomnium & Amorphis DESCRIPTION:At its strongest\, music is a gateway into another world. A w eapon to destroy the walls we built around us – and Finnish metal melanc holists INSOMNIUM are amongst its strongest wielders. Their ninth master piece\, “Anno 1696”\, released in early 2023 led us deep into the dark a nd troublesome past of Northern Europe\, a time of witches\, of supersti tion\, of bloodlust and frenzy. In November\, INSOMNIUM continued the ep ic story of “Anno 1696” on their addendum-like EP “Songs of the Dusk”. F ounded in 1997 in the Karelian city of Joensuu\, they first gained recog nition in 2002 with their wintry debut “In the Halls of Awakening”. Quic kly building on this with fierce death/doom juggernaut “Above the Weepin g World” (2006) or melancholic masterpiece “One for Sorrow” (2012)\, the Finns surprised everyone with their sublimely beautiful\, achingly forl orn “Argent Moon” EP in 2021\, only to shed their skin once more and del iver their heaviest\, darkest masterpiece in 2023. In spring 2024\, INSO MNIUM are teaming up with their friends from high speed melodic death vi rtuosi OMNIUM GATHERUM and Boston’s WILDERUN\, for 25 nights of gloom an d sinister anthems in North America. Rock and metal music have always be en a haven for those who have bigger stories to tell\; who have grander emotions to convey. For more than thirty years\, Finnish figureheads Amo rphis have done their best to carve their very own niche in heartfelt ye t aggressive\, melancholic yet soothing tunes. On “Halo”\, their stagger ing fourteenth studio effort\, the Fins underline their trailblazing sta tus as one of the most original\, culturally relevant and rewarding acts ever to emerge from the land of the thousand lakes. In the past\, mytho logy and legend took the role of today’s pop culture: Stories and a set of values uniting us by giving us a voice and a tapestry on which we can find each other and identify with something. By weaving the tales of Fi nnish national epos “Kalevala” into their songs and interpreting them in a timeless way\, Amorphis combine the role of ancient minstrels and lum inaries of the modern world\, honouring tradition without getting stuck in the past. The vibrant\, lively\, and touching beauty that is “Halo” h ighlights their musical and storytelling mastership on a once again soar ing level: It’s a progressive\, melodic\, and quintessentially melanchol ic heavy metal masterwork plucked from the fickle void of inspiration by original guitarists Esa Holopainen and Tomi Koivusaari\, bassist Olli-P ekka Laine\, drummer Jan Rechberger\, longtime keyboardist Santeri Kalli o and vocalist Tomi Joutsen\, the band’s long-standing lyrical conscious ness Pekka Kainulainen and a selected group of world class audio profess ionals led by renowned Swedish producer Jens Bogren. Considering the ban d’s prolonged journey in the forefront of innovative metal music\, it’s difficult to grasp how Amorphis manages to raise the proverbial bar time and time again\, presenting a more than worthy finale to the trilogy be gun with 2015’s “Under the Red Cloud” followed by 2018’s “Queen of Time. ” “It really is a great feeling that we can still produce very decent mu sic as a band\,” says Holopainen\, a founding member of the band. “Perha ps a certain kind of self-criticism and long experience culminate in the se latest albums.” To the songwriter himself\, “Halo” sounds both famili ar and different. “It is thoroughly recognizable Amorphis from beginning to end but the general atmosphere is a little bit heavier and more prog ressive and also organic compared to its predecessor\,” he elaborates. T omi Joutsen\, the man with vocal cords capable of unleashing colossal\, bear-like growls as well as singing soothing\, mesmerising lullabies\, a dds\, “To me\, ‘Halo’ sounds a little more stripped down compared to ‘Qu een Of Time’ and ‘Under The Red Cloud.’ However\, don’t get me wrong: wh en a certain song needs to sound big\, then it sounds very big.” He’s ri ght\, of course: By stripping down some of the arrangements\, the monume ntal moments become even more monumental. That’s of course also thanks t o producing renaissance man Jens Bogren who harvested the eleven final t racks from a batch of thirty songs Amorphis offered him. “Jens is very d emanding\, but I really like to work with him\,” says Holopainen. “He ta kes care of the whole project from start to finish\, and he allows the m usician to focus on just playing. I may not be able to thank Jens enough . Everything we’ve done together has been really great\, and this co-ope ration has carried Amorphis significantly forward.” Indeed. Setting off with the stormy grandeur of opener “Northwards\,” Amorphis take us on an epic journey through the lands of the north\, their rich cultural and h istorical heritage and musical traditions. This is not only an album for fans or metal connoisseurs. It’s a must for every imaginative mind out there with a soft spot for cinematic soundscapes\, triumphant melodies a nd breathtaking dynamics measuring the borderlands of light and dark. Ho wever\, no Amorphis album would be complete without the imaginative and poetic storytelling of renowned lyricist and “Kalevala” expert Pekka Kai nulainen. “From day one\, Pekka has always been an enthusiastic and prol ific lyricist for Amorphis\,” says Joutsen. “It is a slow process of tra nslating archaic Finnish poetry into English and adapting it our progres sive rhythms. Fortunately\, Pekka does everything on time and with great care.” Since 2007’s “Silent Waters\,” Kainulainen has been navigating t he mythological waters of his homeland with great skill and respect. For “Halo\,” he outdid himself once again. “‘Halo’ is a loose themed record filled with adventurous tales about the mythical North tens of thousand s of years ago\,” he explains. “The lyrics tell of an ancient time when man wandered to these abandoned boreal frontiers after the ice age. Whil e describing the revival of a seminal culture in a world of new opportun ities\, I also try to reach the sempiternal forces of the human mind.” T hirty-one years after their inception\, with uncounted global tours unde r their belt and fourteen albums deep in their career\, Amorphis still p roves to be the musical fountain of youth\, an extraordinary band consta ntly reinventing itself without abandoning its mystical roots. With “Hal o”\, they deliver an astonishing album that deserves to be played everyw here\, transcending the realms of metal and rock by its sheer profoundne ss and musicality.\n\nTickets: https://www.ticketmaster.com/insomnium-am orphis-baltimore-maryland-12-16-2026/event/15006516C2BCD9D0\n\nhttps://f indlocal.community/event/bf213e17-048c-4425-b18b-620859367c7f LOCATION:Baltimore Soundstage\, Baltimore\, MD URL:https://findlocal.community/event/bf213e17-048c-4425-b18b-620859367c7 f STATUS:CONFIRMED SEQUENCE:0 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR