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Insomnia (2014) is the third full-length album by German power metal act Edge of Thorns. It is their first album in seven years. The album features a guest appearance by Ralf Scheepers of Primal Fear and Gamma Ray fame on the song Metal Unity.
The music on Insomnia has the unmistakeable sound of German power metal, specifically the kind that Grave Digger has popularised. That means a guitar driven sound and more aggressive vocals than the genre more typical serves up. Vocalist Dirk "Duke" Schmitt comes across as being quite similar to Grave Digger's Chris Boltendahl actually and overall the record gives up definite vibes of the other band's sound. Though it does come over as a more modern interpretation so I wouldn't quite go as far as to call Edge of Thorns a clone act, but maybe that would be better than the actual impression that I get and that's that they come over as a poor man's version of Grave Digger. But that's more because the material in general on Insomnia isn't as memorable or consistent as Grave Digger's best works rather than how similar the two bands can sound and also because I dislike Schmitt's tone when he sings more melodically.
There are a few highlights among the songs to be noted including Dark Side of Your Life, Death Dealer and The 7 Sins of Arthur McGregor, which in my opinion is actually quite a progressive track. But oddly the most memorable thing about Insomnia is actually its intro track, In Your Dreams, and that's because when I first played the album the style of the intro literally made me wonder what the fuck I had just put on. To describe it as some sort of sinister lullaby wouldn't be wrong. Much of the album though just seems to sail by without making either a particular positive or a negative impression. Even the duet with Ralf Scheepers manages to pass by without notice.
Insomnia is enjoyable power metal through and through but when I ask myself whether I will listen to this again once I'm done with this review the answer is no. That makes the real difference when trying to grade an album and it's for that reason 3 stars seems the fairest rating. It's good, but these days that just isn't enough.
63/100
(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/edge-of-thorns-insomnia-t3559.html)