Artist: Kalmah
Label: Spikefarm Records
Release Date: 8/21/01
Average Rating: 4.5 Skulls
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Title: Swamplord Artist: Kalmah Label: Spikefarm Records Release Date: 8/21/01
Average Rating: 4.5 Skulls |
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Reviewed by Behemoth (1/3/02):
The name Kalmah is definitely Kafkaesque in nature, having nightmarishly complex, bizarre and illogical qualities. Hailing from the barren state of Finland Kalmah's debut on American soil comes courtesy of a distribution deal through Century Media Records. This band has nurtured and produced their vision of melodic death metal into a twisted form of musical complexion. Musical direction here is dark and aggressive featuring the relevant interplay of the keyboard. The keys are not over produced thusly allowing the piercing and melodic riffs to be expressed in the right musical context. Listen to crunchy metal-based riffs within the lush composition of "Heritance of Berija" a burner foraging through a myriad of time changes, which allows the twin guitar attack ample breathing room. Ultra fast but yet melodic, yes this is an oxymoron. Forming in late 1999 this unit tapered their death metal lineage into something more palatable to our ears. The disc was recorded in Tico-Tico-studios, previously blessed by Amorphis and Sentenced. In addition, comparisons to additional studio mates Children of Bodom mystify; Swamplord surpasses anything Bodom has ever produced, so there. The harsh realities of Finnish life are characterized and captured on this release, Kalmah creates a very dark and guitar driven metal masterpiece. Sure to appeal to the extreme music camp, this is a technically proficient debut. The music blends heavy riffs with harmonic distortions and proficient drumming which lays down an array of fast paced beats. The melodic parts are spaced evenly throughout with subtle riffage and texture. Those of you who enjoy this type of piercing metal check out "Evil in You" and "Alteration" which display quality musicianship, mature songwriting, and a focus on the edge of extreme. Kalmah have composed an album with the necessary elements to become a successful act.
Reviewed by Solomon (11/14/01):
Northern Europe has been flooding the metal market with melodic, high-quality material for the last several years now. This is a good thing, except originality seems to have taken a back seat in many cases and many bands tend to follow the same formula, especially in the guitar department. Kalmah is one of the newest examples of this trend. Comprised of former members of the death metal band Ancestor, Kalmah continues along the lines of Children of Bodom and Sonata Arctica in providing cutting and complex metallic anthems that show no signs of laziness. The band's playing abilities are beyond dispute, even if there is little on Swamplord that will surprise anyone: typical melodic death vocals and enough six-string wanking to make you go blind. Bands that follow a particular style can still leave their own mark. Even if Kalmah sounds an aweful lot like COB, they do lean more towards the "folkish" element. "Triplet" rhythms, either real or implied, give the music a unique twist that bring out the mythological and pagan overtones in the song titles and lyrics.If Kalmah really sucked, I'd probably be more inclined to dock them brownie points for treading a well-worn path. The thing is, they do what they do and they do it damn well, and they do have their own "slant" on the whole Sweden/Finland thing. You can't help but do a little medieval jig when the trollish swing of "Hades" comes on, or jump up and bang your head to the opening guitar gymnastics of "Heritance of Berija." I can't help it: Swamplord is a winner.
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