“1670 A.D. through 1700 was not a good time for Scandinavia. Famine put large swaths of the population in the ground and religious fervor led to horrific witch hunts with scores of women executed in gruesome ways. It is these especially dark times that Insomnium turned to for the inspiration for ninth album, Anno 1696. The concept revolving around the clash between Christianity and paganism, ruthless religious persecution, and the supernatural all plays out to Insomnium’s signature blend of melodeath, doom, and dark folk/goth.” The bad olde days.
