Customer Reviews

Swamp Song

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kalmah is another band that I consider an essential part of the Melodic Death Metal scene. They are truely amazing musicians, but they have to be in order to be able to play this kind of music well. Their songs posses amazing melodies, melodic leads, hard riffs, speed, and tempo changes that will make most metal bands outside of this category look like amatures. They play divinely.

Kalmah have given us 3 major releases. "Swamplord", "They Will Return", and this album "Swampsong". One more amazing than the other, and if you are a fan of the genre, don't even finish reading this review, just go and get your hands on all three of these releases and begin worshipping, also get ready for their forth release coming soon at the end of this year or next year.

Kalmah have often been described as sounding too similar to Children of Bodom, and even Dark Tranquillity. I might agree to a certain extent that their sound is close to Children of Bodom, but definitely not Dark Tranquillity. I do not describe the similarity with COB as a negative though. In a certain genre you are bound to hear similarities between bands and obviously many more differences. In this release, Kalmah are pushing for speed and many riffs are faster than what we are used to other bands in this genre. Their aggression is also higher than the average Melodic Death Metal band, and their singer possesses a very distinguishable voice, making this band unique. When in arguments about originality, or similarity between bands in this category, for example Kalmah and COB I like to think of it as both of them taking from one of the creators of the genre - At The Gates - while both continuing to add to and advance this style of music.

I will attempt describing every song on this masterpiece. Note that the high ratings for every song, does not mean that I am biased just because I love this band, but it means that this release does not contain any fillers, unlike what we are usually used to with more famous yet less talented bands.


Heroes To Us - 10/10 - The opener of the album is also one of the greatest songs in the Melodic Death Metal world. It contains everything that defines this genre. We have a beautiful melodic introductory lead followed by extremely fast riffs that are extremly difficult to play. The melody is carried throughout the song and the guitarists add to it as they see appropiate in their styles. I must tell you that the keyboards on this whole album are more evident that their previous two releases, adding depth and atmosphere, especially when the songs slow down. Amazing riffs, Amazing solo, Amazing song!

Burbot's Revenge - 9/10 - excellent song from the strong opening riff which eventually gets elaborated by amazing guitarship. The songs gets extremely dense at the chorus, making you want to go crazy. I love the guitarship on all their songs. Brilliant work.

Cloned Insanity - 8.5/10 Another intense, melodic, fast, and unforgettable masterpiece of a song. Powerful from the start. There is a break in it where you have only a bass line playing then the keybords and guitars are added, and it bursts into another amazing solo, followed by the powerful chorus. amazing how they can write material like this.

The Third, The Magical - 10/10 - One of my favourite songs in here. This is not as aggressive of a song as the previous two, but very powerful and moving. The music is incredible and I love the riffs. The singing goes really well on this song. And the choruses are extremely powerful and beautiful. Many times have I been transported to a truely magical world when listening to this masterpiece.

Bird Of Ill Omen - 9/10 - Carries on from The Third, The Magical with a similar melodic lead, but then hits you so hard with a wall of heaviness that actually hurts. But like I always say it is a very enjoyable pain. Incredible. More incredible how the verse riff makes you recover from the bashing and reminds you that we are dealing with a very melodic and talented band. Again every riff here is amazing. Brilliant song, keybords gaining a more important role here.

Doubtful About It All - 9.5/10 - Brilliant song. The riffs here are just incredible. The guitarists have outdone themselves here. Must be incredible to see them play this song live. The best guitarship in the album and this means a lot when talking about Kalmah.

Tordah - 10/10 - Another favourite song of mine. Brilliant musicianship. The verse riffs seem made exclusively for this singer and are very addictive, the beautiful melodies always present, and a strong chorus. The riffs seem to have more power while having less speed. Another amazing solo.

Man With Mystery - 8/10 - Great opening riff. I love all these songs. Amazing how creative they must be to come up with a whole album of great songs that are unique in their own ways. This song contains everything the band in known for. The playing is obviously... yes you guessed it, immaculate.

Moon Of My Nights - 8.5/10 - Actually starts with a piano intro, could it be a slow love song? NEVER. That wall of sound quickly hits you again. Even though the verses are pretty soft, Kalmah makes sure that every song keeps transporting you to their beautiful world of heaviness and majestic melody. This song creates a truelly wonderful atmosphere and has to be another favourite of mine.

Suodeth - 8.5 - A bonus track. Why is this only a bonus track? I urge you to buy the "Swamsong" that contains this song, because it is brilliant.

Soooooooo. Why do all the songs have such high ratings, because you are a dumbass if you haven't gotten this cd yet.

This is by far Kalmah's greatest work. Every song has so much character. It may just have been me, but I noticed some similarities in their songs before. The songs on this album however are all very unique.

Heroes To Us - GREAT first track. It really set's the mood for the rest of the album. Excellent rhythm riffs in the intro.

Burbots Revenge - The intro riff sounds great. It starts with one guitar, then you can really tell when the second jumps in there. Excellent vocals on the chorus.

Cloned Insanity - This is one of my favorite tracks on the CD. I'm an accomplished guitarist and I love playing along with the intro riff. The solo is truly one of their most challengning (similar to Evil In You)

The Third, The Magical - Very good for the first of the slower paced songs. The vocals on the chorus are amazing. Very deep sounding. No guitar solo, just a keyboard solo.

Bird of Ill Omen - This song is a wall of sound. Very challenging riffs for guitarists and some intense drumming as well.

Doubtful About It All - This is my favorite track. The lead guitar on the verse is just PURE GOLD. Antti Kokko is all over the fret board. The call/reply form on the chorus is EXCELLENT.

Tordah - Slower in tempo compared to the other tracks. Very good song none the less. The pre-solo and solo are where this song shines.

Man With Mystery - I love the chord progressions in this track. The break at 2:44 is excellent. It really carries the song.

Moon of my Nights - This song has so much soul poured into it. The vocals are like none I've ever heard from Kalmah before. This is not a bad thing, they sound excellent. The piano parts really highlight the mood of the song.

Blazing solos, innovative lyrics sung by one of my favorite vocalists of all time, and excellent drum work make this the best Kalmah album to date. I hope you find this review helpful and convincing enough to keep you from missing out on one of the best albums of 2003

\m/ ò_ó \m/

They dont sound like COB once you get deep into both bands catalogs. KALMAH more atmospheric and better rythmn guitar.
Cob faster, write more groove based songs on REAPER and play more blistering solos.
Both bands are excellent. Hereos to Us, Cloned Insanity and yes Burbots revenge which means catfish in fiinish , HAHA catfishes revenge. Anyway Moon of my Nights is also a kille slower track to end the album. Music this good is hard to find.

Yes, they call themselves swamp metal, which is indeed a close representation. The vocalist here sounds more mechanical, which is a good thing and the music is very atmospheric. Yet, the intensity is still there, although their previous albums "They Will Return" and "Swamplord" are even more intense and furious. However, there is something new here that I can't quite explain. It's just so catchy and you will come back for more. Get any of their albums, as you will be impressed.

First off i'd like to say that kalmah kicks ass and they're incredible musicians. now to my main point: being an AVID listener of COB i have to say that not only is the production on this album different, but the music is only slightly similar. The sound on all kalmah albums is a lot warmer with quieter vocals. also, the drummers have completely different styles, which changes the overall feel of the music. anyway, i'd just like to point out that these guys are a totally kickass metal band but do not sound that similar to COB. i was gonna type some more but i forgot what.

Kalmah is perhaps ones of the most refreshing and even perhaps different bands to come along in a while. Their first two albums, Swamplord and They Will Return, although both sounded similar in production, was excellent in both song writing and song stucture. Blazing leads, brutal drums and bass, and some great raspy screams from vocalist Pekka Kokko. Kalmah's first two albums also sounded heavily influenced by Megadeths early work, just check out "Skin o' my Teeth" on They Will Return, a Megadeth cover.
Swampsong, the band's third effort, sounded completely different in terms of how it was produced, and how the guitars sounded. From the start of the opening track "Heroes to Us" I thought I accidently had placed a Children of Bodom cd in. The guitars sound almost exactly like Bodom's trademark sound on Swampsong. Not that this is a band thing, but it is my only real gripe with this album. If i wanted to listen to Children of Bodom I would have put on a Children of Bodom cd. Kalmah's guitar sound on their first two albums sounded as if they were being played in muddied, rancid swamp water right from their home in Finland, and I thought that sounded excellent. However, like I said, no big deal here. Even though the guitars sound different in terms of distortion and production, they still shred out some blazing riffs with just incredible solos. The drums continue to hammer away with a great performance from drummer Janne Kusmin. Another thing that was different about Swampsong, compaired to their two other releases, is the use of the keyboards. Kalmah had used the keys as more as an atmospheric instrument, a background instrument if you will. On this album, Swampsong, the keys are pretty much nonexistent. I know the band was having problems keeping keyboard players in the band, and they decided to use the keys less, perhaps even cut them out all together and use guitar fills to replace some of the keyboard parts, so this is something which is not a huge impact on the band's sound.
The songs are structured out very well, and the production is very good also. The lyrics are a bit average, not really that deep as found in bands like My Dying Bride or Opeth, but then, this is melodic metal, which focuses more on guitars then lyrics.
Kalmah only sounds like Children of Bodom in the aspect of how their actual guitars sound, the distortion being used or special effects, other then this, I cannot see a resemblance. Kalmah has more black metal influences, and very old school 80's sound like Megadeth, where Bodom sounds more like a new form of heavy, fast, thrash whom uses keyboards heavilly.
Kalmah is a great band, with extremely talented musicians. If you are a fan of Children of Bodom, Norther, even black metal bands like Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, and the like, then check out Kalmah.
Memorable Songs: Heroes to Us, Burbot's Revenge, Tordah

"Swampsong" is a really good piece of melodic death/speed metal. I suppose you could describe the sound as a cross between Children of Bodom and early In Flames, with some early Megadeth thrown in. Many of the songs on here have killer guitar/keyboard harmonies and a very intense sound overall. If you're into that kind of thing then definately check this one out.

Children of Bodom's last couple releases weren't atrocious, but they showed the band losing steam. The Finnish melodeath torch has been passed. Kalmah's received a bit of negative attention for sounding like Children of Bodom, but with each passing release Kalmah is subtley differentiating themselves from peers. I can't imagine CoB doing anything like slowing things down as the singer sings in a slow, baritone voice, like in the song "The Third, The Magical." Still, the staples are present; killer lead work that explores different melodic avenues but still shreds, thin raspy screams, swampy bass, and glittery keyboards straight from Atlantis. Kalmah's keyboards elevate the band above other bands that use keys, in the sense that they're -actually adherent to the compositions.- All this and some sharp, catchy arrangements equals a worthwhile album.
- Thus says the Pellington

Kalmah is a band out of Finland that can be compared to Children of Bodom. Their sound is somewhat of a cross between Death and Power Metal, and is impressive indeed. This is their third release, and it is chillingly dark and melodic at the same time. Every song on the album is very well executed. I hear this album is also an improvement on their others. Kalmah have a bright future ahead of them, if they keep producing albums like this. Children of Bodom look out, because here comes Kalmah.

The third release from the swamps would be this. Many became fans through the first and second releases, but a heap of them were convinced with the release of -Swampsong-. While really enjoying -Swamplord- and -They Will Return-, I knew it was time to hit this, so I gave it a go. Apparently child_of_the_jester_race explains the tracks pretty well, but much too biased. Nonetheless Kalmah is more than capable of churning epic...well, everything! However, after listening to the entire CD, this one, sadly to speak my mind, really didn't cut it as well as the first two Kalmah albums. I really don't mean to be harsh against Kalmah; I'm just saying that -Swampsong- really didn't do it well for me.

Track picks would be "Heroes To Us", "Burbot's Revenge", "Cloned Insanity", "The Third, The Magical", "Man With Mystery", and "Moon Of My Nights".

Although these are all good tracks to me, the real picks that I truly enjoyed were "Heroes To Us", "The Third, The Magical", and "Moon Of My Nights".

"Heroes..." - Charging opener about heroes lost to wars throughout mankind's history. The solo territory ranges from 2:25 to 4:00. The ending pounds the daylights out of everyone, but I still don't understand the scratching noise at the end.
"The Third..." - Slow song, starting with Pasi doing his trade. Very melodic and with a powerful riff. The chorus makes this one standout, being very orcish and deep, which is extremely good. The keyboard solo is too much to ask for, really well done.
"Moon..." - Probably my favorite song because it is the most unique one on the album. Has this driving rhythm with Pekka's deep yells during the verses. Pasi's playing makes this song so much more beautiful and shows how much effort and heart the members put into this song. Really enjoy the solo and the slow keyboard solo. The ending pounds you really well, but not without leaving a lavish mark.

There is also a bonus track called "Suodeth". My advice is to pick up the imported version that contains this track. It is absolutely stunning. They always have to make good tracks rare.

I really do listen to the entire Kalmah library, but this CD didn't make an impact as well as the first two. Musicianship wise, Kalmah wipes the floor with most bands and many within their own league, and that shows up on all the tracks here. I would recommend it highly anyways because any Kalmah album is a Kalmah album, featuring the best in wholesome, damn good Finnish Metal.