Interview with bassist and vocalist Niilo Sevänen
Interview conducted by Luxi Lahtinen
Date online: March 23, 2025
Insomnium's 20th anniversary tour, celebrating their iconic Shadows of the Dying Sun album, has resulted in many a night to remember for both the band and their fans. This night was held at the legendary Tavastia Club in Helsinki, Finland, which was a complete sell-out, with every corner of the venue buzzing with excitement. From start to finish, the band's fans showed immense support, creating an unforgettable atmosphere as they sang along to their favorite tracks, both off the Shadows... album, as well as some choice cuts from the band's past, and cheered for the band, who seemingly enjoyed the crowd's reactions.
Playing the Shadows... album in its entirety was a testament to the band's enduring legacy and the deep connection they've built with their passionate fanbase over the years. It could be well said that this special night was a true 
celebration of Insomnium's journey and the power of their music.
The Metal Crypt managed to sit down with the band's luminary frontman Niilo Sevänen a few hours prior to showtime, to talk about the ongoing tour they have been doing on their home turf of Finland, to celebrate the Shadows... album, also inquiring about the band's further touring plans, the state of new material, etc.
20TH ANNIVERSARY OF SHADOWS OF THE DYING SUN
Shadows of the Dying Sun, Insomnium's sixth studio album, was released in 2014, and now 10 years later you've returned to the songs from this album with a celebratory tour like this. How does it feel to play these songs in their entirety after such a long time?
Niilo: It's been fun so far. Doing these gigs has felt a bit different, of course, as we play the entire album from start to finish vs. just doing songs from this or that album.
It has also felt cohesive to play these songs and it has been fun to notice how this record also works live. The song order works fine and there are a few songs that we have never really played live before, and they have worked well. I don't know why we haven't played some of these songs off this record live before, like "Collapsing Words" and "Lose the Night" because both have worked really well. Anyway, it's been really nice playing these songs off the Shadows... album. It's been a different experience for us to take this album on the road and everything's gone just fine in every way. We have had many sold-out gigs in Finland, and in Europe we have had the biggest audiences ever. There were many places where there were more than a thousand people, which is starting to be a really nice number of people for us. We have been really satisfied with this tour so far and doing these shows together with Omnium Gatherum has felt like some sort of a field trip for all of us, like we are the uncles that have been able to go on a class trip. [*laughter*]
When you look back at the process of making 2014's Shadows of the Dying Sun, what memories and emotions come up? How does the process differ from how you approach creating music these days?
Niilo: Of course, many things were different at the time we were working on the songs for this record. The band was going through some changes, like Markus (Vanhala) had just joined the band and this was the first album he was involved with. Markus also brought in a different type of approach to our sound, more of a "guitar hero" type of thing, which was quite natural when a guitarist of his virtuoso standard joins the band. He also took on a big role in terms of composition right from the beginning, and he had a lot of influence on it.
Many things were different then and it was with the Shadows... album that we clearly went up another notch in popularity. Eventually, "While We Sleep" actually became a hit song. We were then noted again in new places and things were moved forward. In fact, things have continued to move forward for us during these 10 years. Our whole career has been 
this kind of slow acceleration, a slow and steady rise in terms of popularity, I would say. I mean, there wasn't a clear peak in our career when we gained a massive jump in popularity all at once. The fans who have followed us since the beginning have stayed with us and, fortunately, we have got more new ones gradually. This is quite a healthy way to grow this band, absolutely way better than gaining an indescribable amount of success overnight, which might well mess with my head. (*laughter*]
Regarding the songwriting process, well, it's the same kind of pain now as it was then. Creating art is painful; it's always been like that. Some days it's really hard. And then one day something good happens easily. And you can't really explain why that is so. You cannot really explain how to write a hit song; where does that hit song come from, for example? It has that kind of mystical magic element that you can't really explain. Otherwise, musicians would just only create those "hit songs," right? But the reality is, it doesn't just happen to anyone like that. Making art is still difficult. It makes it easier that there are several composers in this band, though. Fortunately, composing new music is not on someone's back alone in this band. If someone has an idea, the table is open to introduce it to everyone in the band and everyone is entitled to express his opinion, of course. And then these ideas are processed more collectively. It can be grueling sometimes, especially when your own ideas don't go through, and others don't appreciate them enough. But I think that kind of process is all good and it then produces a really good end result. All the songs and ideas that end up on the record are tried and tested and accepted by the band. Usually, they are quite good.
How do you view the songs on the album and how have they changed in performances when you play them live now after 10 years?
Niilo: Well, there are some parts that might have sounded a little bit different if we had put more time into the song arrangements. But then again, the live versions are pretty faithful compared to the original album versions on Shadows... There might be some extra vocal stuff there when playing these songs live that wasn't on the album, so in that sense some of these songs may sound just slightly different.
So, you are basically saying that you didn't want to modify any of the songs on Shadows... with heavy hands but tried to stay as loyal to the original compositions as possible when warming them up for the live setting again?
Niilo: Yes, and specifically when we're celebrating the ten-year anniversary of that album, it makes no sense to make those songs sound too different from the originals. The fans want to hear what they first heard on the record. For example, a song like "Lose to Night" is the kind of song you can make a completely similar acoustic version of; one man and a guitar - and present the song that way. But nothing like this has crossed our minds as to why we should do so.
What has the atmosphere been like at your gigs when you played these old songs off Shadows... that have been part of the band's history for a whole decade already?
Niilo: Of course, it's difficult to say what that audience is thinking now. But these songs have worked great live, in my opinion, and the audience has clearly liked them and the two songs I already mentioned, "Lose to Night" and "Collapsing Words," which are one after the other in our setlist, in the middle of the set, I think they work really well.
And usually, when we play "Collapsing Words," the mild riot starts if the audience has been a bit stiff up until this point of the gig. There is usually a bit of reserved feeling in the crowd at the beginning of our gigs.
After all, the audience reaction is what makes the live gig memorable, what gives it the feeling. That interaction with the audience and their reactions. Fortunately, they have all been good so far. You can see that the audience is enjoying the set and are genuinely excited about those songs and some people look very moved by them, especially when we get to play like a song "The Promethean Song," a calmer song is played.
Returning to the old material can be both exciting and challenging. Is there anything you didn't notice or appreciate about the songs on Shadows of the Dying Sun when you listen to them today?
Niilo: Great question. I think I can surely appreciate them way more now than when we created these songs some 10 years ago, but I guess in a different way. We haven't been thinking of this record in the last few years because we have had everything else going on and made some new records since those days.
But in a way, I can see now what kind of whole that album really was. In my opinion, all the songs are good, and they are in the right place on that record. There are no fillers, or that's how it feels after ten years. In a way, you can see why it became our most popular album up to that point and raised us to a new level, success-wise. I also honestly think that many things locked in the right place on that record. Shadows... has also stood the test of time so that it still sounds good 
and relevant.
On this current tour, have there been any special moments or situations that have stuck in your mind when you've played the material from this Shadows... album to the audience?
Niilo: Well, the fact is that these kinds of sing-alongs weren't really terribly common before. Maybe the "The Witch Hunter" song off our latest album Anno 1696, is the kind of song where we have tried to get a general sing-along going at the beginning. But with "Lose to Night," it feels like the crowd always sings along with us, especially when the chorus comes around for the third time at the end, the crowd usually sings along nicely and that feels great, of course.
How do the songs on Shadows of the Dying Sun resonate in the current context? Do you feel that they still speak in the same way as when those songs were originally written, and you got to perform them for the first time in a live situation?
Niilo: Good question. Of course, there are things in the lyrics on that album that can now potentially be seen in a new light ten years later, or when your own life situation has changed or life experience has accumulated and maybe you feel some things more deeply or in a different way, which perhaps seem to hit you even harder today. Perhaps it also underlines that fact the lyrics that we wrote for those songs on that record have been quite successful in the first place, and they talk about really important and meaningful things too, that they are not about some cliché-ridden, crappy lyrics at all.
What do you think the audience gets from the songs and performances on this tour now when you are performing the album in its entirety, 10 years later?
Niilo: Well, hopefully the audience will enjoy all of this while perhaps going into a nostalgic feeling, but at the same time being able to enjoy the gig situation while it's on. I hope people enjoy these shows and yes, it really looks like people have enjoyed our performances on this tour. I bet they have also noticed that we also have fun on stage, and it's also nice to do these shows. Usually, our crowds can always tell right off the bat if we have fun on stage, and we indeed have enjoyed doing these gigs on this ongoing tour.
Which of the songs on Shadows... have always talked more deeply to you on a personal level, and are there any strong emotional experiences associated with them or something else like that...?
Niilo: Well, certainly "The River," which is about this aging artist who is waiting for death and is asking for a little more time so that he can finish one more song. Maybe it resonates with yours truly that here I am an aging artist.
[*laughter*]
So, yes, that song makes me feel even more like my own thing.
Then one other song, which is related to such a personal thing, but it is related to my and my spouse's work. I won't say it publicly.
... and you don't need to do so because a personal thing is always a personal thing.
Niilo: However, there are some more personal things like that could even be emphasized a bit more during the last ten years.
OF TOURING IN 2014 AND MAKING DECISIONS IN LIFE
When this album came out in 2014, you toured with Stam1na and Fleshgod Apocalypse in Europe in late 2014 and with Dark Tranquillity in both Canada and the US in early 2015. Do you still remember what it was like to do those two tours with those guys back then?
Niilo: Well, the tour was good there in America, touring with Dark Tranquillity. We've also done other tours with them, so they are familiar fellows to us and it's really fun to be on the road with them, too.
But it was a point in my personal life where I had to make a choice between my day job and my band activities. As Shadows... was such a hit album, meaning that we became even more known and successful as a band, and there seemed to be more and more tours coming for us. That's when I had to make the choice between my day job and the band. I remember I started to feel like I was going to burn out when I tried to combine my day job and this band.
I also remember that tour very well because I was struggling with my thoughts regarding whether I should stick to this band only and quit my permanent day job for good. I also remember that when we had that tour going on, I told my supervisor at work that I wasn't going to continue anymore. I did go back to work from there, but I wasn't going to stay. I think I was still working for half a year after that. There was this one position was coming up for application, which I had already done there as a deputy for a couple of years; i.e., cultural director's position in Kotka, Finland. And I was applying for it, but then I decided at that point that I wouldn't apply.
I actually resigned from my permanent job, thinking I wanted to focus on this band 100%. And at that point, for the first time, it also seemed like it was possible to throw myself into making a living from the band financially.
And now, from a ten-year perspective, I can say that it was the right decision, and it has worked out quite well. The Corona period was a bit difficult, but we got through it. And the life of a musician and a freelance artist has been great, even though it has its own challenges.
You always have to think about it a bit, or live your life frugally until you know that, "Okay, I'll get some salary at some point." But it's worked out quite well since then and there was no need to struggle, thinking I'd not have enough money to feed my children. So, it's been great altogether. The decision that I made has one of the best decisions in my life, that I left that civil service job and then focused on music.
They are truly difficult decisions; it's a bit of a coin toss, wondering what might happen up next if I chose this or that way...
Niilo: Yes, it's really difficult and it took a long time for me to get to that point when I just made this decision. I must have been struggling with that for two years or so. I remember going to a career coach to explain the situation I was in at that time. I remember telling him that I was in a really challenging crossroad and what kind of decision am I am supposed to make here? Then he listened to my stories and fortunately gave me some cool and worth-considering advice. After a while it all started to become clear that this felt like the right decision – and it indeed was the right solution.
Can you remember whether there were any special venues from those 2014 and 2015 gigs that stood out to you that surprised almost everyone in the band in a positive way?
Niilo: Now this is a tricky question, because in Europe they're basically the same venues where we have played before. I don't even remember which tour I was on for the first time in a certain place. They're the same venues where we play in different contexts. In many big cities, there might be a few options for us where to play, though. We've ended up in different places on different tours. That part I cannot really say anything special, unfortunately.
Has it ever happened to Insomnium while your success has been growing stronger that you were booked into a way too small venue, and eventually a gig organizer had to find a new, bigger venue for your show?
Niilo: Yes, that has happened to us, like on the tour we did with Fleshgod Apocalypse and Stam1na, who were warming us up. The venues were middle-sized, many of them being the size of the Tavastia Club (which is in Helsinki, Finland – ed). Of course, there were smaller ones too. I remember one of the venues ended up being sold out on that tour, and then it changed to a bigger venue. There are a lot of places in Europe that have halls of different sizes in the same complex.
I remember that things like that happened there. And that's certainly a sign that something is happening, and to a significantly bigger level.
THINGS GOT BIGGER...
Did you feel that after you toured around that album, the band's popularity had grown a bit bigger again, which perhaps resonated in a positive way in that you were able to play bigger venues for your next album, Winter's Gate, when you started touring for that record?
Niilo: Yeah, that kind of positive progress continued with the Winters Gate album. The album sold more than Shadows..., so it was an uplifting bonus for us. It was a completely different album and had a different story. And I guess that brought us a bit of a different kind of attention. Some people probably found our band due to the Winter's Gate album... and things developed from that album on.
But this has been a fun ride so far, because those old fans have always stayed with us and then new ones have gradually come with each album. We have been growing with every album a little as a band and have always gradually reached bigger places. Specifically, that we are now in this situation that what we played in Europe in January this year, it was the biggest headlining tour we have ever done in Europe. There were 1400 people watching us in Oberhausen, Germany, which is probably the biggest audience we have ever had so far, in Europe at least. In Helsinki, Finland, when we played at The Circus back then, that place had the same size of audience, more or less. I believe that show was also sold out.
In Germany, there would be four or five places where there were over a thousand people, which is starting to be good for a band of our size at least. Of course, we are not the kind of band that plays at stadiums, and we'll never be able to get there with this kind of death metal. But, however, it's starting to be a really good level for us if there are a thousand people in several places.
You also have an Australian and Asian tour coming up in May 2025. Do you plan to still play the Shadows... album there, or will you be completely reconstructing your setlist for those tours?
Niilo: These gigs here in Finland are the last ones on this tour when we will do the Shadows... album in its entirety, for the time being at least. We will play our last anniversary show of Shadows... in our old hometown Joensuu, on this tour, and then it's over.
THE SONGWRITING PROCESS IS UNDERWAY
The last time we chatted about the current latest album Anno 1696, in March of 2024, I inquired about the latest update on your new songs and when fans can expect a new album from Insomnium?
Niilo: Well, our fans will need to hold their breath, as we're still in the early stages of the process. It's going to be a record cycle where we'll start to put more time and effort into it, then there'll be a break at some point when the composition work will actually be done, because when you're touring, it's quite difficult to compose new stuff. There's everything else on the road. You can't really concentrate on much besides touring. Sometimes you can do some composing work while on tour and somehow, we have succeeded at that in the past, but composing an album truly requires that you be at home in peace. Sitting there at home with your guitar without any pressure or schedules is when new material starts to come out.
And now we're kind of at the stage where our songwriting process is getting started little by little. Just a few days ago, I sent the first demo to the guys to get their reactions to that raw song material. There are no song titles or anything yet. Everything's still on a very rough stage as far as writing and composing music for our next album is concerned. But the goal is that the album will come out next year. But, of course, there are still a lot of "ifs" and "buts" along the way.
I assume you haven't discussed whether your next album will be a conceptual album or not...?
Niilo: Nope, we haven't thought about that yet. The writing process for us is often when music starts coming out, we try to figure out whether these or those songs might form a theme album or not. That's usually how it goes.
With the Winter's Gate album, and partly with Anno 1669, it was like I already had a story written around them, and then we started making music for these records. But then again, it usually goes like this, you start making the music first and then the story is created from those feelings. We'll see how it goes this time when we get this new album written and composed.
Alright, I guess that was all I had in mind for this conversation. Thanks a lot for your time, Niilo, and all the best for tonight's show as well as for the remaining shows on this tour.
Niilo: Thank you and thanks for having me. It was a pleasure.
| Other information about Insomnium on this site |
| Review: Across the Dark |
| Review: One for Sorrow |
| Review: Anno 1696 |
| Interview with bassist and vocalist Niilo Sevänen on August 10, 2018 (Interviewed by Luxi Lahtinen) |
| Interview with vocalist and bassist Niilo Sevänen on August 7, 2021 (Interviewed by Luxi Lahtinen) |
| Interview with bassist and vocalist Niilo Sevänen on March 23, 2024 (Interviewed by Luxi Lahtinen) |
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