_Across the Dark_ does feature a few changes however: a smattering of guest clean vocals and some more folk and prog elements to add to their strong melodic death are the easiest to find, albeit not the only ones. That said, Insomnium have been careful not to take any serious risks, which essentially demands a number of stand-out tracks in order to keep the album sufficiently relevant. In that regard, _Across the Dark_ is a solid but unspectacular album for Insomnium. A number of tracks are outstanding examples of the band's mastery of their style, and the rest are never far behind; but the last couple of albums did leave more of a lasting impression, with riffs and tunes that stuck with you a little longer.

There is very little to fault about _Across the Dark_ itself, apart from being unable to top what they have done before; so while it may not be as fundamental an album as one would like, it still remains a strong candidate for many a best album of the year list.