NICUMO hails from northern Finland, a land with midnight sun in the summer and endless night in the winter. Such extremes can easily spark some inspiration, especially a month to nearly two without sunlight. These Melancholy Metal rockers certainly take that darkness of winter and implement it into their third studio album "Inertia".  For me, this album is like a blend of Doom Metal band KATATONIA and Melodic Metallers AMORPHIS, with a few twists of their own of course.

"Three Pyres" is a solid Melodic Metal track. The main melody was a pleasant gloomy sounding one, while paired with the vocals it reminds me a lot of newer era  AMORPHIS. "Dark Rivers" has a chuggy heavy riff pattern that adds a gloomier feel to the song. The chorus is quite catchy and the solo is lovely. "Same Blood" begins with a saxophone paired with an isolated guitar. This is a really mellow ballad with those trends continuing until about 2 minutes in, when the doomy riffs come in to break things up a bit. The solo is pretty interesting, there was some really quite lovely guitar work paired with some harmony from the saxophone. It's an odd choice, but I like it. "Witch Hunt" breaks into the senses just after the ballad with some Doom Metally riffs. The vocals are much harsher in the first verse of the song, there was a lot of disdain in those words. Then the tone gets much softer, yet still holds so much emotional urgency for the rest of the track.

"Tree of Life" has a more Hard Rock feel to it. The pacing and particular play style during the verses is a bit slower and has less distortion than the previous tracks. The chorus melody reminds me a lot of BREAKING BENJAMIN, it just has that gloomy hopeful feeling about it that the band is known for. "Mother and the Snake" didn't stand out much. It was another solid track, but it kind of flowed between the songs surrounding.  "Who You Are" is a more uplifting track. The screamed/growled vocals are almost like your internal thoughts that hold you back, then the clean vocals is the reassuring portion. I can see this song being a mood changer during a live show. They play a few of their saddest song in a row, then play this one to lighten the mood a bit. "Time Won't Heal" is definitely the saddest song on the album (funny that it follows the happiest one) Every element in this is sad as hell; the guitars are distorted and gloomy, the drums have this dragging melancholy, and the vocals and lyrics are just so dismal. "Black Wolf" is the closing track of the album (and the longest at nearly 7 minutes). It's a slower paced song with heart-breaking yet beautiful symbolism and melodies throughout. It's not a uplifting conclusion like most hope for, but it felt so fitting for an album mostly about sorrowful things.

All and all, "Inertia" sounds like a drifting misty fog over a lake with the main melodies being the calm waves beneath the blanket of gray. This album is a somber music lover's dream. There isn't a ton of variety in moods or soundscapes, most of the songs have a similar feel and melodic quality to them. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though; it makes the album feel cohesive and really lets you simmer in a pool of melancholy feelings for the 41 minutes it lasts (and okay, maybe a while after the album ends too). These guys have a great formula and deliver it in a heart-achingly beautiful way.