KALMAH - SWAMPSONG
Century Media - 2003
By Rodrigo Escandon
With Swampsong, I can safely say that Kalmah belongs in the same sentence as some of the other big melodic death metal bands out there. After beating the sophomore curse with They Will Return, I was definitely looking forward to what these Fins will have next up their sleeves. Undoubtedly, they have come up with their best effort, one that is aggressive, melodic and fast, one that features the bands best songwriting, one that features the band at its best with their particular instruments and simply one of the best albums of 2003.
When I say that the songwriting is better I say in the context that the songs have become more technical, more varied and the individual songs feature more changes than ever before. When the band has that break from the melodies to the heavy riffs with the drumming right around 40 seconds into Cloned Insanity one can tell just exactly what I am talking about. Kalmah has gotten just a bit more aggressive than what they featured in their first 2 albums, especially with Pekkas singing and the moment he first starts singing the first line Bird of Ill Omen you just can not help but get chills down your spine. However, this added aggression to their sound has not taken the melodies out. The first notes you hear of the album are the melodies of Heroes to Us and they are the driving force of the song but the rhythm definitely has a bigger punch to it. Brothers Pekka and Antti have definitely brought the goods as guitarists once again and Antii needs to be mentioned as one of the best lead guitarists in the genre. Everything he plays in Swampsong is pure gold and its hard to focus on just one lead or one solo, to me this sounds like his breakout performance.
Not to be outdone is the keyboard work by Pasi and once again his playing and sound is just so unique that Kalmah would definitely be incomplete without him. The one place where I need to single him out because I just love that part is right at 3 minutes into Doubtful About It All, if this part does not move you and how a great solo by Antii seamlessly follows it then there is no hope for you. The last song I need to mention is the impressive Moon Of My Nights which features both slow and fast tempos and a more talkative yet aggressive approach by Pekka during the verses.
At this moment, Swampsong stands as my favorite melodic death metal album of the year and there has been some good ones as of late but this one rises above them all. It is time for more people to take notice of Kalmah and this album will definitely accomplish that.
Century Media Website
Kalmah Official Website
Century Media - 2003
By Rodrigo Escandon
With Swampsong, I can safely say that Kalmah belongs in the same sentence as some of the other big melodic death metal bands out there. After beating the sophomore curse with They Will Return, I was definitely looking forward to what these Fins will have next up their sleeves. Undoubtedly, they have come up with their best effort, one that is aggressive, melodic and fast, one that features the bands best songwriting, one that features the band at its best with their particular instruments and simply one of the best albums of 2003.
When I say that the songwriting is better I say in the context that the songs have become more technical, more varied and the individual songs feature more changes than ever before. When the band has that break from the melodies to the heavy riffs with the drumming right around 40 seconds into Cloned Insanity one can tell just exactly what I am talking about. Kalmah has gotten just a bit more aggressive than what they featured in their first 2 albums, especially with Pekkas singing and the moment he first starts singing the first line Bird of Ill Omen you just can not help but get chills down your spine. However, this added aggression to their sound has not taken the melodies out. The first notes you hear of the album are the melodies of Heroes to Us and they are the driving force of the song but the rhythm definitely has a bigger punch to it. Brothers Pekka and Antti have definitely brought the goods as guitarists once again and Antii needs to be mentioned as one of the best lead guitarists in the genre. Everything he plays in Swampsong is pure gold and its hard to focus on just one lead or one solo, to me this sounds like his breakout performance.
Not to be outdone is the keyboard work by Pasi and once again his playing and sound is just so unique that Kalmah would definitely be incomplete without him. The one place where I need to single him out because I just love that part is right at 3 minutes into Doubtful About It All, if this part does not move you and how a great solo by Antii seamlessly follows it then there is no hope for you. The last song I need to mention is the impressive Moon Of My Nights which features both slow and fast tempos and a more talkative yet aggressive approach by Pekka during the verses.
At this moment, Swampsong stands as my favorite melodic death metal album of the year and there has been some good ones as of late but this one rises above them all. It is time for more people to take notice of Kalmah and this album will definitely accomplish that.
Century Media Website
Kalmah Official Website
