The news that Finnish death unit Insomnium are on their way Down Under is always cause for celebration, so of course when the chance came for us to dispatch Leeno Dee for a chat with the band’s bassist/vocalist Niilo Sevänen we jumped at it…

Hello there! “Hi”. You’re at home right now? “I’m at home in Finland”.

Are you currently on a break from touring? “Yeah. We have some Finnish shows to do in the Spring – well, they’re easy for us to do in Finland”.

So when do you get back on the road then? “Beginning of May we fly to Singapore and then to Australia, then Japan and China. And that’s almost three weeks, that tour”.

You’ve been to Australia before but what about China? First time there? “Actually, it’s our third time in Australia and… third or fourth time in China. So…(nodding) we’ve done it before”.

You toured America and Mexico late last year I believe? “No, it was Mexico and then South America – Columbia, Brazil, Argentina yeah”.

OK, how did that go for you? “It was great. It was our first time in South America and…  there was a lot of flying, you’re kind of tired, because you can’t get any sleep. But the shows were really good, the people were really friendly, the food was great – I really like South America so I’m sure we’ll get there again! It was a good experience”.

Did you tour the US? “We did the US in May last year. And also the previous year in May so – two times in May. May tours in the USA and Canada”.

More flying or different? “That’s of course different, we do it with a bus. It’s a one month tour throughout the continent. It’s also great there. We have a lot of fans in North America so, good tours”.

I guess you’ve done put in some road work since you started the band in 1997. “(Nodding and smiling) Yes. We’ve done a few tours yes. It seriously started after 2006 when we got our first real tour in Europe and after that it’s been quite busy”.

How do you find the dynamic with the band members on the road? Being together all the time. Good times? Tension? I can see you’re laughing already! “(Laughing) There are situations where you are together for years and years when you tour together and you can’t really escape that… those persons, so…sometimes there’s fighting but like… for example a previous tour we did in Europe with Omnium Gatherum was a really nice atmosphere like a bunch of friends having a holiday together. Almost that kind of feeling so, a really fun tour. Of course some people wanna hang out more with everybody, and like, I wanna have some privacy at times, so everyday I try to go somewhere by myself, put the headphones on, with my laptop or something. And somebody might want to be with others all the time, talking shit so… everybody’s completely different”.

And as the main vocalist I guess you don’t wanna be talking all night after a show – you’d need to rest your voice. “(Nodding) Yes  -that is one thing, sure. (Smiling) But mostly you value your privacy and those peaceful moments on tour when you can be by yourself and you don’t have to communicate with other people. Mostly you are with everybody, even though they are your friends sometimes you wanna be by yourself, take it easy and concentrate on something. At least that’s how it is for me”.

What about on those bus trips? “Yeah, you can’t really escape other people. Of course you can go to your own bunk and close the curtains and lie there in the dark (laughs)  – but that is all you can do”.

Still on the touring –  Merch seems to be a lifesaver for most bands, in metal particularly, as I imagine it would be for Insomnium? “Yes it’s a big thing. And luckily with metal, fans are still buying merch and they’re super dedicated. They still wanna buy the physical album”.

Do you think that’s peculiar to metal specifically? “I know that in many genres, nobody is selling albums anymore but luckily metal fans still want the physical thing and selling shirts is a big thing too. And it helps a lot with the (touring) budget”.

OK. The last album, Anno 1696 and its, shall we say, ‘part two’ EP, Songs of the Dusk, were both released in 2023. The EP sounds like an extension of the album that preceded it, did you record those tracks in the same sessions or did the band go back in and record them later? “It’s the same story (across the album and EP) – we recorded all the songs at the same time. And the original idea was to put them all on the same album, but then we realised it was going to be over seventy minutes and too long (smiles)! We had to figure out a way to make the album shorter so we decided OK, let’s put out an EP later. And I think some of the best tracks were left for the EP so, they were not just leftovers. And I think Song of the Dusk for example is one of the best songs that’s on the EP so, it’s the same story”.

I’ve heard the EP and it certainly didn’t sound like leftovers! “Thank you! Good, that’s the idea”.

So that’s 2023 – it’s been a couple of years now. Have you given any thought to the next album then? Working on some ideas? “Yeah, now it’s kind of time to sit down and start writing the new stuff so we have started the process and we have a demo folder and there are four tracks there at the moment and people have been commenting and we are in the beginning of the process still but we have to start. I’m sure the album will be out next year at some point”.

Do you and the other members work on music individually at home and then bring the ideas together? Or do you all get together and write as a band? “Yeah, everybody works at home making their own demos and sends it to the other guys and then everybody comments and then, another round, better versions, and that’s how it goes. Everybody gets to say this works or not and…make this part better and that part can be better and that’s how it rolls and eventually you get songs that everybody is satisfied with. (Smiling) It can be really frustrating when your great ideas… other band members don’t like them. But in the end you get songs that everybody agrees are really good”.

When you’re ready to begin recording do you all pile into studio together or do you record tracks separately and then combine them? “Yeah, when we’re ready to start making the final arrangements for the whole album then we get together at the rehearsal place and spend time there and like, play the songs together and see how they work. And then you also notice how they work like, live, when you actually can hear your songs and play together. That’s how a lot of the final arrangements are done, together in the rehearsal place before the studio. But the actual studio recording, it can be that people go to different studios like, there’s a place where the drummer wants to go, then when he’s ready, guitarists -I wanna go there (gestures left) other one I wanna go there (gestures right), so you can do it separately and then the mixing guy puts it all together”.

Has that changed from the way you worked in the beginning? “Yeah. There are many ways to do it. Our first two albums we did like, everybody in the same place and its almost like everybody was waiting there while the others were playing (laughs) but we’re not doing that anymore”.

Yep old school huh! “Yeah, I don’t know if I would agree to that anymore! All the others are waiting there and I’m doing my vocal parts (shakes head) I would tell them sort of (makes “get out” hand gesture) I want some privacy!” (Laughter)

The current line up you’re coming to Australia with – it’s a five piece, correct? “(Laughs) Almost correct! We are back to four again! But now we have a live (touring) guitarist, an old friend from Finland, Tomy Laisto, an excellent player and also vocalist, so he’ll be doing a lot of the clean singing in the live situation. And we’re bringing him to Australia as well so he’s part of the band at the moment”.

The sound of the band seems to evolve quite a bit from record to record and I’m wondering if thats that’s a conscious thing or at least partially a result of new members coming in? “OK – mostly its just very natural and organic and, (mimes guitar playing) when you start making music you’re not sure what will come out, the magic of composing, you’re not sure what is gonna happen and when you put different guys together of course its a different kind of mix and will be a little bit different. But also, we wanna make different kinds of albums and we wanna evolve. We don’t wanna be AC/DC who make the same album always – it works for AC/DC – nobody wants them to change! But, we must do something different whilst keeping the Insomnium sound, but bring something fresh to the table”.

OK so Australia and then Japan, China and what’s next…? “Yes. Japan and China, home and we should make the new songs and that’s the main thing. We have a couple of Summer festivals then nothing more booked so we have time for making the album. I think we go into the studio next Spring, so the album might be out next Autumn, 2026. And I think its gonna be something different again. But its hard to say”.

Anything you’d like to say to the fans? “Well! Our Australian friends! Come to see the show, it’ll be a mix of old and new stuff-and also, Omnium Gatherum is a great band. They’re our good friends from Finland we’ve toured together before and they’re like brothers to us. It’s great to come with them to Australia. It will be a fun night for sure”.

INSOMNIUM with guest Omnium Gatherum performing at:
May 6th – Brisbane, The Triffid w/ Darklore
May 7th – Canberra, The Baso w/ Immorium
May 9th – Sydney, Metro Theatre w/ Besomora
May 10th – Melbourne, The Croxton w/ Orpheus Omega
May 11th – Adelaide, Lion Arts Factory w/ Ecdysis