Time flies, and I run into INSANIA’s sound guy, who won't be handling the sound tonight however, and he's pretty drunk, but not as drunk as his friend, and they start going on about a black metal band they supposedly had going in the early nineties, and claim to have played together with Dimmu Borgir and Marduk. I know it's a joke of course, but I play along. Then vocalist Ola comes in from outside, wearing a really cute cap, and we shake hands a talk a little. Ola is a really warm and friendly person, a true down to earth guy.

Finally the time has come, and the band enters the stage, which is really small. If I want to I can reach out and touch the guys, and I have a great line of vision all along. The band opens with a bombastic keyboard intro before bursting into Face The King, which has become somewhat of a trademark opening song for INSANIA lately. This mid tempo piece offers excellent choruses, and everyone in the front row sings along, even though it is only the first song. Directly after comes Life After Life, my all time favorite INSANIA song, and if I had to leave now, I would already have been satisfied. Words cannot to this song justice. As the evening progresses we are treated to such diamonds as Master Of My Mind (another favorite) and an oldie from the first album World Of Ice called Paradisia. Also, for the first time live, the band performs Illusions, written by none else than Ola himself, who jokingly says, after having completed the song, that it is the hardest one for him to sing live, and calls himself and idiot for having written it! All the time, it is clear how much the band has progressed with the new members (Peter/guitar and Dimitri/keyboards), and it is truly amazing to watch Peter handle the solos alone (earlier INSANIA had two guitarists), accompanied by the keyboards of Dimitri, who has been given more space now. Equally fun to watch is bass player Tomas, who has a great stage personality, and really looks like he’s enjoying what he’s doing. Credits must also go to drummer Mikko. I can’t believe how powerful that guy is. Just try playing double bass for five-six minutes in a row for yourself, and you’ll see.

The gig is ended with the classic Land of The Wintersun, and by then my throat is fit to burst, from having sung along all night. AND, as a bonus, we are treated to a newly written song called Valley Of Sunlight, which finds Ola hitting really high notes, before launching into a great sing along chorus. The song is going to be on the new album, which Ola says they hopefully will start recording in May. As of now, INSANIA are recording a four song demo, so it certainly doesn’t seem like inspiration has run short. Thank God for that. I’m really looking forward to new material from the guys, and if the new songs will be as good as Valley Of Sunlight, well you get my meaning. All in all, a splendidly sweaty evening!