Finnish melodic deathsters INSOMNIUM have been forging a very special release during the last months. "Winter's Gate" is a concept album that is made of one epic 40 minute song. The album is built around a short story "Winter's Gate" (“Talven portti” in Finnish) by vocalist & bassist Niilo Sevänen, which won awards and nominations in Finland back in 2007 and 2008. It's a story about a group of Vikings who set out to find a fabled island west from Ireland, even though the winter is drawing near. Inspired by bands such as their legendary countrymen Amorphis and Sentenced, early Paradise Lost or Swedish genre pioneers à la In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, At The Gates or Opeth, 17-year-old Sevänen buried his grunge band and asked his metalhead schoolmates Ville Friman and Markus Hirvonen if they wanted to form a metal band with him. From that point, the only direction for INSOMNIUM was up: album by album – from their 2002 debut “In the Halls Of Awaiting” via “Since The Day It All Came Down” (2004), “Above The Weeping World” (2006) and “Across The Dark” (2009) through to their Century Media debut “One for Sorrow” (2011) – also introducing Markus Vanhala as the new fourth member. And tour by tour the passionate musicians edged their way to the very top of the scene and have by now become the spearhead of melodic death metal made in Finland. Even the departure of longtime guitarist Ville Vänni shortly before their first headlining tour supporting “One For Sorrow” a t the end of 2011 couldn't knock INSOMNIUM off course. With new guitarist Markus Vanhala, who has contributed considerably to “Shadows Of The Dying Sun”, they found an equal substitute for Vänni who left the band amicably for personal issues.