INSOMNIUM GUITARIST VILLE VÄNNI IS NOW EX-INSOMNIUM GUITARIST VILLE VÄNNI
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Why, it was just last week that Insomnium bassist/vocalist Niilo Sevänen told our own Leyla Ford that all the members of the band have other careers, including guitarist Ville Vänni, who — watch out, single Jewish ladies!!! — is a doctor. The advantage of having a second, better-paying source of income, Sevänen pointed out, is that Insomnium “don’t need to make music as our living… We can do exactly the kind of music we want, because there’s not so much commercial pressure that we need to sell thousands and thousands of copies to pay our mortgages or rent.” Which makes perfect sense! Plenty of bands employ a similar strategy.
But the disadvantage, it seems, is that having two careers means there won’t be much time for anything but those careers, and that’s bound to take a toll, too. And so now Vänni, apparently exhausted from years of double-duty, has decided to exit the band. He explains on Insomnium’s official website:
“Time is now ripe to share the news about line-up changes in the Insomnium camp. With a heavy heart I have reached the decision to resign from Insomnium. The decision is mutual and final, and there is no big drama behind it.
“During the last year I have found myself in a limbo of constant lack of time and impossible schedules. Combining a general surgeon’s career with a busy metal band like Insomnium has already taken years of precise timing, and the candle has been burning from both ends for years now. At the same time, Insomnium has grown bigger demanding more and more time. As a result, I have gradually come to a painful realization that I can not meet the needs of this roller coaster ride any more.
“This decision was hard to make and accept for all of us. Insomnium has been like a family and the band mates have been (and will still remain) my best and closest friends. For not being able to give my 100% would only be letting them down. The reason why this decision is made flesh right now is that I will not be able to attend the One For Sorrow European tour. My wife is due to give birth to our first son and it is my responsibility, duty and choice to be home at that time. I will play two first shows in Finland and then bid farewell.”
All of which, again, makes perfect sense. It’s a bummer, but it makes sense.
The silver lining is that even though Vänni has appeared on very Insomnium album thus far, most of the band’s songwriting is done by Sevänen and co-guitarist Ville Friman, so hopefully this won’t actually change Insomnium’s sound too much. And they’ve already announced Omnium Gatherum’s Markus Vanhala as Vänni’s replacement. I’m not nearly as big a fan of Omnium Gatherum as I am of Insomnium, but not because the latter band can’t play or whatever. And, again, Vanhala will probably not be responsible for much, if any, of the songwriting moving forward. So I think Insomnium will rise above the weeping world this conflict.
-AR
[via Metal Underground]
