The Soporific Sound of Metal

Like many people I am an occasional insomniac, and I frequently use music to aid my sleep. I usually use something tranquil to help me on my way to the land of nod. Anathema, Mostly Autumn and Tides From Nebula are frequently on my sleep time playlist. But sometimes I'm just not in the mood for softer music and I need something a little heavier.

Here is a list of five of my favourite albums for the restless metalhead that, at first glance, might seem completely unsuited to the task of helping drift off to sleep.

Wolverine - Communication lost

First up is Wolverine with their latest album, Communication Lost. Much of this album is melodic, and many of the tracks have their gentle moments, but on the whole the strong, hard riffs make it seem unlikely to be sleep inducing. Played loud enough, and heard through the muted ears of tiredness, it's actually very calming.

Example: Wolverine - Embrace

Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit

While listening to album opener They Escaped The Weight Of Darkness, you would be forgiven for thinking that this album is akin to a relaxation tape, full of the sounds of nature and a soft, mournful cello. You think that until the beginning of Into The Painted Grey, at which point your ears are pummelled into your head with some cracking drum work. But even then heavy rhythm has a wonderful soporific effect that gets the head nodding.

Example: Black Lake Nidstang

Moonsorrow - Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa

Like Agalloch, the power behind this album is the heavy, repetitive rhythm. With every track topping the 10 minute mark, its effect is somewhat relentless. The frequent breaks to the sound of a man walking through the ruins of the apocalypse are also particularly effective in soothing the active mind. Even the blood-curdling scream at the end of Kuolleille isn't enough to wake me once the album has done its work.

Example: Moonsorrow - Huuto

Sylosis - Edge of the Earth

It may seem utterly ludicrous to include a thrash record in a list of albums that make you sleep, but it shares many of the same qualities as Marrow Of The Spirit and Varjoina kulhemme kuilleiden maassa. It is, again, relentless at 70 minutes long, and the interspersing of melodic, almost prog like riffs amongst the wall of sound make it ideal to drift off to.

Example: Sylosis - Empyreal

Martriden - Enter the Monolith

Following on from Moonsorrow and Sylosis, Martriden starts to make more sense as an album to sleep to. It's heavy, it has some crushing riffs, but it is also an impenetrable wall of sound that hammers your semi-conscious brain into submission.  The trick to this album is to play it loud enough that you are completely enclosed by the sound. This one is particularly good for if you're trying to sleep on a train, the sound working with the rattling of the train on the tracks producing a cocoon of metal to hide inside on those long journeys.

Example: Martriden - Heywood R. Floyd