Title: World Of Ice
Date of Release: January 2013
Record Label: No Fashion Records
Genre: Power Metal
Website: http://www.insania.se/
FB: Insania Stockholm
Reviewed by: Geoff McGraw
Date: May 2014
Track listings: 1. Insaniation 2. Fighting My Tears 3. Fire 4. With Courage And Pride 5. Forever Alone 6. Private Sex Machine 7. Paradisia 8. World Of Ice 9. Forever Is A Long Time 10. Furious Seas 11. Carried By Wings
Insania Stockholm is power metal from Sweden. The "Stockholm" is there to help you differentiate from the 7 other bands across the world named Insania. This is their 1999 EP release, they've had 5 releases since, and the band is preparing for a 2014 release.
Filled to the brim with keyboards, virtuosic guitar playing, and clean soaring vocals it would be absolutely impossible to classify Insania Stockholm as anything but power metal, featuring both guitar and keyboard solo breaks as well as choral backups. They claim amongst their influences such acts as Helloween, and Blind Guardian, and there are definitely hints of those within "World Of Ice" 11 tracks.
Insania Stockholm trades on nearly every single power metal cliche there is, and somehow this album falls short. The passion and power that is power metals trademark seems just never to surface during the 54 minutes and 35 seconds of the album. The one cliche that the band seems not to touch very often is fantasy. Instead of dragons, powerful warriors, battle and booty there was enough cheese and sweetness to give Joey Tempest a toothache. Vocalist David Henrickson has a beautiful voice, but it remains relatively constant across the entire album. he takes no risks with his performance, there are no moments that send chills down your spine or stand out and make your ears perk up.
I cannot say that it is a bad album...but neither does it do the one thing that power metal is supposed to do without fail....INSPIRE. Power metal is supposed to make you feel powerful, victorious and dream of powerful foes vanquished. Instead it came off as a fairly mediocre entry into the genre. I would hope that the bands followup releases were more intense and passionate. "World Of Ice" left me cold.
5 of 10 horns
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