Winter's Gate

Last updated
Winter's Gate
Insomnium - Winters Gate.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 23, 2016 (2016-09-23)
RecordedMarch – April 2016
Studio
  • SF Sound Studio
  • Scoring Helsinki
  • Studio Korkeakoski
Genre
Length40:02
Label Century Media
Producer
  • Teemu Aalto
  • Insomnium
Insomnium chronology
Shadows of the Dying Sun
(2014)
Winter's Gate
(2016)
Heart Like a Grave
(2019)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Exclaim! 8/10 [1]
Sputnikmusic3.2/5 [2]
Metal Injection9/10 [3]
Loud OnlineStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]

Winter's Gate is the seventh studio album by Finnish melodic death metal band Insomnium. It was released worldwide on September 23, 2016 via Century Media Records. It is a concept album said to be about "a group of Vikings who set out to find a fabled island west of Ireland, despite the treacherous winter drawing near." [5]

Contents

The album consists of a single 40-minute track. For streaming and download services, it was split into seven separate tracks [6] [7] despite containing six movements denoted in the lyrics. [8] These movements are noted in the tracklist below. For vinyl, the song was split across sides between parts 3 and 4. [9]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Niilo Sevänen; all music is composed by Ville Friman, Markus Vanhala & Sevänen

No.TitleLength
1."Winter's Gate"
  • "Part 1" (Slaughter Moon)
  • "Part 2" (The Golden Wolf, Part I)
  • "Part 3" (The Golden Wolf, Part II)
  • "Part 4" (At the Gates of Winter)
  • "Part 5" (The Gate Opens, Part I)
  • "Part 6" (The Gate Opens, Part II)
  • "Part 7" (The Final Stand / Into the Sleep)
"
40:02
  • 6:14
  • 6:37
  • 5:51
  • 5:26
  • 4:20
  • 5:13
  • 6:19

Credits

Credits are adapted from the album liner notes. [10]

Charts

Chart (2016)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [11] 27
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [12] 186
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [13] 92
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [14] 1
French Albums (SNEP) [15] 104
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [16] 19
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [17] 27

Related Research Articles

<i>Throwing Copper</i> 1994 album by Live

Throwing Copper is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Live, released on April 26, 1994, on former MCA Records subsidiary Radioactive Records. It was produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads and was recorded at Pachyderm Recording Studio. Throwing Copper has generally been regarded as Live's best album, having sold over 8 million copies and certified 8× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

<i>Absolution</i> (album) 2003 studio album by Muse

Absolution is the third studio album by the English rock band Muse, released on 15 September 2003 through Taste Media. It was produced by Muse and Rich Costey, with additional production by John Cornfield and Paul Reeve.

<i>Best of the Beast</i> 1996 compilation album by Iron Maiden

Best of the Beast was Iron Maiden's first "best of" album, released in 1996 in three formats: a 34 track vinyl, a 27 track CD, a 16 track CD and MiniDisc. The vinyl edition is, to date, the band's longest record release, running for over three hours.

<i>Bury the Hatchet</i> (album) 1999 studio album by the Cranberries

Bury the Hatchet is the fourth studio album by Irish alternative rock band the Cranberries, released on 19 April 1999. In the US, the album had shipped 500,000 copies as of 2 June 1999, and received a gold certification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air (French band) discography</span>

French electronic music duo Air has released six studio albums, one collaborative studio album, two soundtrack albums, one mix album, one compilation album, one remix album, two video albums, one extended play, twenty-two singles and sixteen music videos. The band's first release was the 1995 single "Modular Mix", which peaked at number 177 in the United Kingdom. Their debut extended play, Premiers Symptômes, was released in July 1997; it peaked at number 12 in the UK and was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Moon Safari, Air's debut studio album, was released in January 1998. It peaked at number 21 in France and was certified gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP). Moon Safari reached the top ten in countries such as Ireland and the UK and produced three singles: "Sexy Boy", "Kelly Watch the Stars" and "All I Need". All three singles reached the top 40 in the UK; "Sexy Boy" and "All I Need" reached the top 25 in Finland and the Netherlands respectively.

<i>21st Century Breakdown</i> 2009 studio album by Green Day

21st Century Breakdown is the eighth studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on May 15, 2009, through Reprise Records. Green Day commenced work on the record in January 2006 and forty-five songs were written by vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong by October 2007, but the band members did not enter studio work until January 2008.

<i>High Violet</i> 2010 studio album by the National

High Violet is the fifth studio album by The National, which was released on May 10, 2010, in Europe and on May 11, 2010, in North America via 4AD. The band produced the album themselves, assisted by Peter Katis with whom they worked on their previous albums Alligator and Boxer at their own studio in Brooklyn, New York, and at Katis' Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The sculpture on the album cover was created by artist Mark Fox, and is called The Binding Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insomnium</span> Finnish melodic death metal band

Insomnium is a Finnish melodic death metal band formed in Joensuu in 1997. The sound and lyrical themes of their music portray darkness, sorrow, loss, pain, and nature. They are primarily a melodic death metal band with occasional elements of doom metal and progressive metal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Bonamassa discography</span>

The discography of Joe Bonamassa, an American blues rock musician, consists of 16 studio albums, 18 live albums, three collaboration albums, 30 singles, 15 video albums, 13 music videos and 54 other appearances. After growing up in Utica, New York, Bonamassa began his career as a member of the band Bloodline, before beginning his solo career in 2000 with the release of A New Day Yesterday. The album reached number 9 on the US Billboard Blues Albums chart. The guitarist continued to see success in the blues genre, topping the chart with 2002's So, It's Like That and 2006's You & Me, before making his debut on the Billboard 200 in 2007 with Sloe Gin, which reached number 184. Bonamassa's albums have continued to increase in chart success over the years, with The Ballad of John Henry reaching number 103 on the Billboard 200, Black Rock, Dust Bowl and Driving Towards the Daylight reaching the Top 40, and Different Shades of Blue and Blues of Desperation reaching the Top 20. Several of the musician's video albums have also topped the Billboard Music Video Sales chart.

<i>Tragic Idol</i> 2012 studio album by Paradise Lost

Tragic Idol is the thirteenth studio album by British gothic metal band Paradise Lost. It was released on 23 April 2012 in Europe and 24 April 2012 in North America via Century Media Records.

<i>The Lord of Steel</i> 2012 studio album by Manowar

The Lord of Steel is the eleventh studio album of the American heavy metal band Manowar. It was first released as a download on June 16, 2012 and the limited-edition pre-release special edition CD of the British heavy metal magazine Metal Hammer on June 26, 2012. The retail edition of the album was available as CD, limited-edition vinyl and digital album. It featured cover art by Ken Kelly who has worked on many previous Manowar covers. It marks a change in the band's sound, moving away from the symphonic sound of Gods of War and going back to the style of Louder than Hell with the production quality of Thunder in the Sky.

<i>Koi No Yokan</i> 2012 album by Deftones

Koi No Yokan is the seventh studio album by the American alternative metal band Deftones, released on November 12, 2012, by Reprise Records. Its title is a phrase from the Japanese language "恋の予感", translating to "premonition of love".

<i>At War with Reality</i> 2014 studio album by At the Gates

At War with Reality is the fifth studio album and major label debut by Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates, released on 28 October 2014. It is the band's first album since Slaughter of the Soul (1995), marking the longest gap between two studio albums in their career. It is a concept album based on the literary genre of magic realism.

<i>Shadows of the Dying Sun</i> 2014 studio album by Insomnium

Shadows of the Dying Sun is the sixth studio album by Finnish melodic death metal band Insomnium. It was released in North America on April 29, 2014 via Century Media Records, and on April 25 in Finland, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the rest of Europe, as well as Australia and New Zealand on April 28. It is their first album with new guitarist Markus Vanhala after previous long-time guitarist Ville Vänni departed in 2011.

<i>A Skeletal Domain</i> 2014 studio album by Cannibal Corpse

A Skeletal Domain is the thirteenth studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse. Released on September 16, 2014 by Metal Blade Records, the album was produced at Audiohammer Studios by Mark Lewis.

<i>Skills in Pills</i> 2015 studio album by Lindemann

Skills in Pills is the debut studio album by the European supergroup Lindemann, featuring Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann and Peter Tägtgren, founder of Hypocrisy and Pain. It was released on 23 June 2015 through Warner Central Europe. It was preceded by the lead single "Praise Abort", released on 28 May 2015, with "Fish On" receiving a single release later on 9 October. The album reached number one in Finland and Germany, also peaking within the top 10 in Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Norway, and Switzerland. This was the only Lindemann album to have been recorded completely in English, as Till reverted to his usual native of German on the group's second studio album F & M.

<i>Transcendence</i> (Devin Townsend Project album) 2016 studio album by Devin Townsend Project

Transcendence is the seventeenth studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend. It is the seventh and final album in the Devin Townsend Project series. It was released on September 9, 2016, via HevyDevy Records.

<i>Sleep Well Beast</i> 2017 studio album by The National

Sleep Well Beast is the seventh studio album by the American indie rock band The National, released on September 8, 2017, by 4AD. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2018.

<i>Heart Like a Grave</i> 2019 studio album by Insomnium

Heart Like a Grave is the eighth studio album by Finnish melodic death metal band Insomnium, released on 4 October 2019 via Century Media. It is the first album to feature guitarist Jani Liimatainen. Loudwire named it one of the 50 best metal albums of 2019.

<i>Anno 1696</i> 2023 studio album by Insomnium

Anno 1696 is the ninth studio album by Finnish melodic death metal band Insomnium, released on 24 February 2023 via Century Media. Insomnium began working on the album shortly before the release of Argent Moon, in 2021, with the album originally planned to be released in 2022. Like their 2016 album Winter's Gate, the album is based on a short story by vocalist/bassist Niilo Sevänen, first hinted on October 24, 2022, less than two weeks before the album's official announcement.

References

  1. Nizam, Adam (September 21, 2016). "Insomnium Winter's Gate". exclaim.ca. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  2. Ward, Kyle (September 12, 2016). "Insomnium – Winter's Gate (album review 2)". www.sputnikmusic.com. Sputnikmusic. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  3. Franco, Nicholas (October 7, 2016). "Album Review: INSOMNIUM Winter's Gate". www.metalinjection.net. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  4. Giffin, Brian (October 4, 2016). "INSOMNIUM: WINTER'S GATE". www.loudmag.com.au. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  5. "INSOMNIUM To Release 'Winter's Gate' Album, Book In September". Blabbermouth.net. May 19, 2016. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  6. "Winter's Gate by Insomnium on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  7. "Winter's Gate". Spotify. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  8. "INSOMNIUM LYRICS – "Winter's Gate" (2016) album". Dark Lyrics. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  9. "Insomnium – Winter's Gate (Vinyl, LP, Album, Album) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  10. "Credits". Winter's Gate (booklet). Insomnium. Century Media Records. 2016. 88985348272.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. "Austriancharts.at – Insomnium – Winter's Gate" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  12. "Ultratop.be – Insomnium – Winter's Gate" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  13. "Ultratop.be – Insomnium – Winter's Gate" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  14. "Insomnium: Winter's Gate" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  15. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 39, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique . Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  16. "Offiziellecharts.de – Insomnium – Winter's Gate" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  17. "Swisscharts.com – Insomnium – Winter's Gate". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 October 2016.