I need recommendations

Holy rusted metal! Follow the Reaper is the SLOW paced album among those by Children of Bodom? Oh my goodness... Now I don't know what to expect of the other ones...

I actually didn't like it. Mask of Sanity, Everytime I Die and Shot in the Dark are good songs, but in general it just sounded hectic to me, it's like they are trying to do too much and mess everything up. I have heard a few of their earlier songs and was not impressed. Generally, the vocals get on my nerves, so I have mostly stayed away from the band.

I agree that Kalmah are different, and much better. I also only have They Will Return for now. My favorite songs are Human Fates and Kill the Idealist; My Nation and Principle Hero are also remarkable. I just find the instrumentation and melodies to be so much more compelling than with most similar bands (Children of Bodom, Eternal Tears of Sorrow, etc.)
 
Speaking of Eternal Tears of Sorrow: to be accurate, I have only heard Chaotic Beauty, and was ambivalent. However, A Virgin and a Whore seems different. Does it have anything in common with Kalmah's current style? How do the latest albums compare to each other? How are they different?
 
except for some musicians , not so much, IMO :)
to me, kalmah could be described as the "rough side in etos", but definitely are an individual band *emphasize* sure, some keyboard lines and sounds sound similiar but that's just natural, I'd say :)
A Virgin And A Whore is completely different to both: kalmah's 2 albums and also last etos album... :confused: :dopey: to me, it's calmer