I S O L A T I O N

Insómnia Pálida - Northern Depressions

Bragança is far away. Separated from everything and everyone, sheltered in her white, cold and welcoming mantle. Isolation is positive, make no mistake. “Those who live beyond Marão, and the rulers”. I have always seen Bragança as that distant castle, isolated and submerged in a mist that is very much its own. It is that tight hug. It turns out to be a land that requires an immense immersion, a difficult “digestion”. For many, being away hurts. Being away is a burden. Being far away is an impossibility of... of something, of someone, of a light in the background.

Nevertheless, Art survives these impediments and realities... Insómnia Pálida is one of the examples of this perseverance. Alongside Ventre Maligno (which has ceased activities in the meantime), Silêncio (which I believe are now… dead) and Dark Alchemy, it demonstrates that distance is not an impediment.

The project dates from 2018, if I am not mistaken. Project by a single musician, it has been growing, not only in notoriety but also in sound quality. From its beginnings more associated with DSBM, where the identity of Portugal prevailed (essentially in the way the guitar was inserted in the final work), to the days when Raw Black Metal took power from the essence of the artist, we have observed a metamorphosis that has passed alongside many.

The national scene has been growing in an absurd way, reaching the point of creating projects that should never even have left the minds of its actors! The waves that drag the good, the bad, and the very bad, are saturating. We have reached a point where we want people to stop creating. This sounds mean and insulting, but I do not really care, honestly...

Project after project, trying to replicate the most Raw and Primitive Black Metal possible, and rarely does something impactful come up. What is, then, different about Insómnia Pálida? I am biased, since I feel in the project a little of what the city of Bragança is, and that overwhelming – and sometimes harmful – breath. During my years in the city, I felt that each door was closed, that this was the end of the road. That Marão had successfully barred the passage!
I felt that that city, lost behind the mountains, far away, castrating and jailing, would submit us to its will...

However, if it is true that the Mind does not let itself be bowed down by limitations, and that imagination flies high, creativity also accompanies them. In addition, it is exciting to envision what the Human Being can achieve when he dedicates himself and imposes himself to overcome barriers.

Melancholy, latent depression, longing and sadness, along these lines was the basis of Insómnia Pálida's music when he saw the first rays of life. Suffocating and strangely comforting, that is how I describe Insómnia Pálida's music when I heard it for the first time, and discovering that this project had been born in the oppressive lands of Trás-os-Montes, filled my chest with pride!

I saw the project grow and change its face. Never in its entirety, fortunately. There was always a trace of that beautiful depression, that heartbreak that lulls us to sleep. Moreover, that was the mark that distinguished him from the rest. The atmospherics of Ventre Maligno, the almost Symphonic / Shoegaze of Dark Alchemy, and the brilliant music of Silêncio (which together with “Razors”, by Insómnia Pálida, make up the Split released in June 2018), these were the examples of Black Metal in the "Real North".

This Spilt shows the collaborative mind at work. A very DSBM base, slow and draggy, heavy and almost agonizing. It is, perhaps, my favorite Insómnia Pálida track, and Silêncio will always be one of my favorite projects coming out of the wonderful Kingdom. Absurd and revolting as we still have not had the right to more.

Mention needs to be made to the next Split with an international project – Morte Perpetua – in the form of "Wander Through the Depths of the Void". A harsh and abrasive image of Raw and Primitive Black Metal. Insómnia Pálida displays anger and revolt, embracing 100% the Raw Black Metal side of his artistic persona.

June 2021, and I get a message saying that Insómnia Pálida has released a new Demo! My Brigantino side, the emotional one, is quickly disposed to admire the news! “Razors”, THAT track! Rerecorded, restructured, recreated... dragged down into the depths of human disgust, the spoils of carnage and human desolation. What did it give us? It gave us dimension and depth to creation. Raw and primitive, but the melody is all there. It was... Sublime. Now yes, it has reached its highest point!

Will he now be able to break the barriers, and go further? It is funny that I know people, foreigners (and nationals, obviously), who greatly appreciate the work of this young Brigantino, but our Underground, our scene, continues to ignore, for the most part, the sound that comes from the lands of Trás-os-Montes.

I say again that “Razors” is an excellent representation of what is good about DSBM: the feeling of Despair, Emptiness and Death, without falling into unnecessary clichés and artifices. We can look at these 3 tracks in another way. We can look at them as a journey, with vicissitudes and mood swings... so real for each one of us. The exile with which we are received ends up opening doors, and allowing passage to softer and more welcoming images. “Monorrimo” is a perfect way to end this article.

But, once again, the machine moves and presents us with a split with Íngreme. Íngreme is another Black Metal entity from this Reino Maravilhoso (Wonderful Kingdom), and it shows a different side to Black Metal; Insómnia Pálida, on the other hand, does not drift away that much from his origins. In fact, we sense that his skills are definitely growing, and his creative side has been pushed further by his "opposition" in Íngreme.
 

"O covil das bruxas tem portais para o passado perdido".

 
As mentioned before, on this Split we see him mess around with diverse melodies and overall structures. Was not expecting, but enjoyed it a lot. 2022 came and more releases it brought. We are not going on a chronological path, but exploring his music and how if flows from release to release. As I have mentioned before, he drifted away from the more Depressive and Melancholic side of his Black Metal from the release of "Gritos de Dor no Profundo Inferno" up until – more or less – his Split with Morte Perpetua. "Ruídos Residuais" took as back his more depressive facet, and it resulted immensely well. "O Culto Do Mal E Da Violência" gives us a more Raw and Visceral Black Metal, it almost represents a different moment in time and life, a need to release demons. Perhaps…

The Split with Íngreme has already been mentioned, and we reach 2022, and one of the best releases I heard this year. "Surtos Psicóticos" is a collection of 3 tracks of his trademark sound: Depressive and Melancholic, without ever falling into clichés and such. We can hear that he has (almost) perfected his sound to the point where we can almost immediately identify his sound as his. But 2022 was not over and we got a new track "Os Filhos de Irae (drug abuse rehearsal)", and I do hear the influence that IRAE might have had on the artist. Black Metal with a particular scent to it… experimentation. Liked it…

Bragança, high on the hill, imposing and majestic.

Insómnia Pálida Official Bandcamp

Nekrogoat Heresy Productions Official Bandcamp