Across The Dark - Gothic Decor for Home & Office

More than just growled lyrics! I, too, think that death metal can be somewhat monotonous. Growled lyrics, boring guitar riffs repeated over and over, overuse of double bass... But Insomnium breaks the melodic death metal mold and has created an album I have listened to over a hundred times, and will probably listen to another hundred times before I have to finally put it down for a while.While I enjoyed their previous albums, particularly "Since the Day It All Came Down," "Across the Dark" blows them all out of the water with a few subtle changes. One, they have more sung passages that complement the usual growls. Second, the acoustic or otherwise quieter passages are far more interesting than previously. Now, the song actually progresses, instead of just repeating the same riff but with acoustic guitar. And lastly, this album has more atmosphere than all their previous albums combined. These changes, along with the band's usual talent, push this album to epic.If you're buying your first Insomnium album, I'd start with this one, then move on to "One for Sorrow" if you like what you hear.