...so what do you call bands like Children of Bodom, In Flames, Arch Enemy, and Dark Tranquility? I'd have to say one of the most popular genres of mainstream metal is quickly becoming "melodic death metal". What IS "mainstream" anyways? The sound of the music being an overall generic sound or does it have to do with record sales and name recoginition? Either way, the bands listed above would meet these requirments I feel.
are kalmah getting mainstream ?
- Thread starter ahmedkokko
- Start date
...so what do you call bands like Children of Bodom, In Flames, Arch Enemy, and Dark Tranquility? I'd have to say one of the most popular genres of mainstream metal is quickly becoming "melodic death metal". What IS "mainstream" anyways? The sound of the music being an overall generic sound or does it have to do with record sales and name recoginition? Either way, the bands listed above would meet these requirments I feel.
Gjallarhorn
Member
murderedbysound
MurderedbySound
Turn on the radio. Odds are Kalmah isn't on it. Unless MAYBE in the Scandinavian countries and maybe on college stations. But at least in the states the heaviest thing I have heard on the radio during daylight when most people are awake and active is either Metallica or Dragonforce.
I have yet to hear anything decent on the radio from the metal scene from recent times. Dream Theater had a couple songs get air time. But they butchered the song so its like meh..
Even if they sponsored by Hot Topic or some shit I would go and buy a shirt for sure. Eventually a good band will get recognized and get air time and all the good stuff. Not saying Kalmah isn't good. Just in the eyes of the public they aren't...
I have yet to hear anything decent on the radio from the metal scene from recent times. Dream Theater had a couple songs get air time. But they butchered the song so its like meh..
Even if they sponsored by Hot Topic or some shit I would go and buy a shirt for sure. Eventually a good band will get recognized and get air time and all the good stuff. Not saying Kalmah isn't good. Just in the eyes of the public they aren't...
yeah i agree.. arch enemy is still holding it down tho.. i think that the latest album was pretty good in my eyes. that solo in vultures at 3:57 is epic as fuck
MetalKoopa
King of Evil
- Feb 5, 2009
- 22
- 0
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Kalmah did change their style a lot for FtR, which I didn't like, but they're not "mainstream."
Also, Melodic death metal is not mainsteam, either. Just because some fags claim they are a fan of (I dunno, let's say In Flames) In Flames when they've only heard one or two of their songs on their last 4 albums, doesn't mean that they actually like melodeath, because In Flames is no longer anywhere near melodeath. Their last SLIGHTLY melodeath album was Jester Race, imo. After that, it was something in between melodeath and progressive (not that colony or Clayman was bad for being that way), and then at RRtR, they became completely progressive/rock/nu-metal or whatever the fuck you wanna call the shit. Like I said, there are a lot of nu-metal-In-Flames fans, but they're not melodeath fans, and melodeath fans do not make up the majority of their fanbase anymore, it seems.
Also, Melodic death metal is not mainsteam, either. Just because some fags claim they are a fan of (I dunno, let's say In Flames) In Flames when they've only heard one or two of their songs on their last 4 albums, doesn't mean that they actually like melodeath, because In Flames is no longer anywhere near melodeath. Their last SLIGHTLY melodeath album was Jester Race, imo. After that, it was something in between melodeath and progressive (not that colony or Clayman was bad for being that way), and then at RRtR, they became completely progressive/rock/nu-metal or whatever the fuck you wanna call the shit. Like I said, there are a lot of nu-metal-In-Flames fans, but they're not melodeath fans, and melodeath fans do not make up the majority of their fanbase anymore, it seems.
BlackMetalWhiteGuy
Manly Man!
I wouldn't consider bands like Arch Enemy, Children of Bodom, Dark Tranquillity, or In Flames to be "mainstream" although I would certainly agree that they're no longer "underground," in most metal fan's eyes. By comparison, I think Kalmah's music is better, but they haven't acheived the level of name recognition (or probably album sales) that these other bands have, not to mention that they've only had one tour in North America and they never crossed south of the Canadian border (also I wished they would have). Consequently, I would hardly classify them as mainstream or anything near it. They really do have a unique sound, even when compared to "similar" bands like Children of Bodom, Imperanon, Wintersun, etc.
Also, for those who've pointed out that they changed their sound on For the Revolution, may I ask how many Kalmah albums you've actually listened to? In my opinion, they didn't change their sound on that album, they changed it back to the They Will Return era, which was a welcome change to me, because I never was able to get into Black Waltz.
Also, for those who've pointed out that they changed their sound on For the Revolution, may I ask how many Kalmah albums you've actually listened to? In my opinion, they didn't change their sound on that album, they changed it back to the They Will Return era, which was a welcome change to me, because I never was able to get into Black Waltz.
slimbill
Ibraheem
- Jul 6, 2009
- 17
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look, theres a difference between being mainstream andgeting commercialized. i think that kalmah is slowly getting into the mainstrain melo death scene but no way in hell are the commercialized. they dont make music to the publics needs like cob. they producce what they feel like. look at ftr and black waltz, i love them but they havent been that popular with most people.
kalmah doesnt give a damn waht anybody thinks of them. they just produce good music.
kalmah doesnt give a damn waht anybody thinks of them. they just produce good music.
eternalswamplord
Member
i used to love this band, havent been here in a while. ive really lost interest though. there is just riffs in almost every song that kill it for me now. great first three albums. great. fucking amazing.
Marklee
New Metal Member
I listened to all of their albums (including the demo) many-many times. If you don't believe, you can check overall top tracks on my Last.fm. And in my opinion it sounds more mainstream than any other Kalmah's album. Yes, they preserved the very deep and heavy sound of The Black Waltz. But it is somehow more easy-listening. Maybe due to a slower-tempo, or more "singin" vocals than on all other albums. And yet, I started to love and respect them even more for making such album, even though I don't like it (with the exception of couple tracks). For some reason, I believe the album had to be that way in order to make the next one more Kalmah-like and more interesting. We'll see.
I fail to hear the "mainstream sound" you are refering to on FTR. It's a more polished sound for sure but i agree with BlackMetalWhiteGuide.
Never really considered Kalmah a mainstream band, everything I've seen that helps promote a band such as radio stations, movie sountracks, flyers and etc, Kalmah was always missing from all those. Where I live, we even have a metal radio station show that plays at night every Saturday and never have I once heard Kalmah on it. In other words, Kalmah might be mainstream, but only at an undergound basis.
for me, Kalmah is such an unique band, that actually needs no global mainstream thingy, 'cause they have a lot of supportive fans already in the so called ''underground'', but the problem is that most of the bands want to make living out of music only... and if you want that, you have to bite the Mainstream piece of cake and taste the glory / defeat.
No mater what, mainstream or not, Kalmah for me will be something special, and I will support this unique band.
No mater what, mainstream or not, Kalmah for me will be something special, and I will support this unique band.
Marklee
New Metal Member
Well, what can I say? Good for you.
And btw, I didn't say it's mainstream. What I meant was that it leans towards mainstream in comparison to TBW and the earlier stuff. And I didn't say it was a bad thing. It just lacks those amazing combinations of contrasts (which they have in their earlier work) which got me into Kalmah in the first place.
And I agree with Djura_YDKS. Kalmah is the most unique band I've ever heard. Even most Progressive Metal bands can't achieve that kind of uniqueness, which Kalmah achieved with MDM/PM. Which can be considered less complicated genre than "prog" and therefore much more harder to create something unique with.
P.S. I've almost broken my brain trying to translate my thoughts from Russian to English.
Darth Grimby
Hell's Satans - \m/oncton
For what it's worth, you did pretty fucking good. Better than most people even who's first language is english.
I don't think Kalmah is mainstream at all, but I think they deserve so much more exposure than they've received. It's ridiculous how unknown they are in the US. They've been making the sickest Melodic Death Metal for almost 10 years and still no one knows who they are. There is a college radio station near me who play exclusively metal and other heavy music. They play Bodom all the time, but when I call in to request Kalmah, they don't even know what I'm talking about. I contacted their manager and he promised to purchase some Kalmah albums to play on the station. I feel like it's my personal mission in this life to get Kalmah as much exposure in the US as possible. My girlfriend's sister works for Revolver, which is a popular metal magazine here. They've covered COB a bunch of times, so I keep telling her about Kalmah in the hopes that they will eventually get an article. Kalmah is way too good to be so unknown. I want every metalhead to know of them and buy all their albums. they deserve to make lots of money, since they are so damn good. I just want them to be successful.
eternalswamplord
Member
I've got an update on this one. I just got an e-mail from 89.5 WSOU, the radio station which plays lots of metal and they got in contact with Spine Farm. They told me that Spine Farm is sending them For the Revolution and then will follow up and send them the whole Kalmah back catalog. Soon Kalmah will be hitting the airwaves in the US. This radio station has a website where you can listen to it streaming all over the world, so feel free to check it out. I'm not saying they play good metal all the time, but it's pretty decent and very soon I will be calling in requesting Kalmah non-stop, so it might be worth checking out. Now if I can just get them an article in Revolver magazine, my plan will come together perfectly. Before you know it, Kalmah will be touring in the US and will become the hugest metal band of all time. Mwahahaha!!!
