Customer Reviews

Swamplord

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

KALMAH - Swamplord
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I got a hold of Swamplord and Swampsong... I figured I start at the beginning and listen and review their Debut first.
First things first, I should point out this does not sound like a debut... Their sound is familiar enough to be comfortable, but actually quite unique in its overall delivery. From a musicianship standpoint they are also masters of their craft. The dual guitar work is fantastic, (It is because of their Guitar's sound they get the COB comparisons) the bass is rumbling, yet audible, and provides a great wall of sound for the other instruments. Drumming is more then competent, by Melo-Death standards (Which as you know is compliment) The aura creating Keyboard work is top notch in the genre, sounding less cheesy than their Finish counterparts COB and more atmospheric like newer Dark Tranquility. Vocally it is boarder line Black-Metal with touches of the traditional Gothenburg sound. (Thomas Lindberg style)
These guys may be getting the COB comparisons but truth is I like this better. They take the best elements of that band and combine it with some harder edge stuff similar to Dark Tranquility or At the Gates.
Not to mention this is the best Melodic Death Debut, I've heard since Arsis' debut. (A Celebration of Guilt.) The only real down side, as with Arsis' debut was that it was a bit tedious to listen to start to finish. However, your patience is easily rewarded by the last 3 tracks... As they close their album with a bigger bang than it opened.
Favorite Songs: Evil in You, Hades, and Using the Word.
-4 Stars.


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OK the first thing that I have to say is the other guy Reid from Scotland who wrote the review saying that Kalmah sounds like C.O.F. is 100% out of his freakin MIND!! If In Flames and Children of Bodom were to sire an offspring together the Hellspawn that would come forth would be named KALMAH!! These guys have fantastic melodic guitar work as well as any from The Amott brothers and yes Dan Swano!. If you like swedish gothburg type metal (without the male clear buttrock vocals!) then chekck these guys out. A+ material all the way. Thanks & evil salutations

I must admit, I'm a huge fan of Children of Bodom, but I'd have to say this is better. Everything on this album kicks ass. The guitars show melodic talent and the vocals are really good to. If you want to get get Hatecrew Deathroll, get this instead. Any fan of CoB or Norther would love this. Best song:Withering Away. 10/10

Debut album by Finnish metal band Kalmah.
This is a GREAT heavy metal album for fans of Children of Bodom, Norther, Eternal Tears of Sorrow, and even pure power metal or any other metal for that matter. This band at this time included Altti Vetelainen on bass (Vocalist/bassist of Eternal Tears of Sorrow) Petri Sankala on drums (did drums for ETOS), Pasi Hiltula on keyboard (which he also did in ETOS), and Pekka and Antii Kokko on rhythm guitar/vocals, and lead guitar respectively. This album's style is similar to that of Eternal Tears of Sorrow, and I am a big fan of both. However, with their next album called They Will Return, Kalmah would lose Vetelainen and Sankala, who would be replaced by Timo Lehtinen and Janne Kusmin, both equal in skill to their predecessors. After the third one, Swamplord, Pasi Hiltula recently left, who was replaced by Marco Sneck who will be featured on their new one from 2004.
Here is a song by song review-
1)Evil in You- 10/10. A great drum part at the beginning, moving into a great song with complex cooperation between the guitars and keyboard, making for a great sound. The solo could be a little more audible however.
2)Withering Away- 10/10. Great lead guitar riff, with excellent playing all the way through. Good solo.
3)Heritance of Berija- 10/10. A slightly more peaceful sound, but with brutal drumming and great lead guitar. The lyrics are very interesting, as well is political (unusual for metal), and especially interesting from a country bordering the former Soviet Union.
4)Black Roija- 9/10. Very good song, a tad bit generic but still great.
5)Dance of the Water- 8/10. Good song, not particularly remarkable.
6)Hades- 10/10. GREAT SONG! Unbeatable riff with a great solo, and I love that Children of Bodom-style keyboard BANG! Great lead guitar and lead keyboard work. Moves from catchy to brutal. Unbeatable song.
7)Alteration- 10/10. Excellent song. Enya-style keyboards moving into great leads. Works well with Sankala's drumming style.
8)Using the Word- 10/10. What can I say, a great finale. Moving keyboard solo, meaningful lyrics, and a moving riff. Beautiful song. Closes the album perfectly. I love the spit Pekka lets out to end the song.

But don't take my word for it, get this album now! Then get the EVEN BETTER They Will Return and Swampsong. What can I say, this is a consistently great album. Get the three of them in whatever order you like, because they are all so good and you're missing out unless you get all three! And don't forget to buy their album coming out this year (I think).

I'll have to completely disagree with the last reviewer...Kalmah sounds nothing like Cradle Of Filth. While I can see how one who knows little about metal could make the comparison, anyone into the genre will be able to see the distinctions (growled, not screeched, vocals, less emphasis on keyboards, a more brutal and straightforward approach to songwriting, less of a "we're so evil" image, ect.) between black metal and death metal.

Kalmah sounds more like Soilwork, Children of Bodom, old Dark Tranquility, ect.

Here the offer eight tracks of fast (and I'm talking super-fast) melodic death metal. Heavy and...oh yeah, did I mention fast? Great guitar leads, and looped solos often replacing simple riffs, this should be a must have for the serious metal fan.

Swamplord is an amazing album, fast, heavy and melodic. Kalmah seem to amaze me with their guitar work, espicially in "Heritance of Berija" a guitar solo playing along with a fast piano tune actually sounds really awesome. "Hades" is an amazing song. Great album for a great band is all i really want to say.

The moment I heard Kalmah, I was in complete awe of the guitars...AMAZING! Europeans really know their stuff when it comes to Metal. The rest of the band is incredible too. Though, I've never been a HUGE fan of Death Metal vocalists, Kalmah's vocals blend in with the instruments very nicely. These guys play like they've been playing together FOREVER and they've only released 3 albums (as of now). Get this album or miss out on hearing my new Favorite band.

This is an excellent job for a debut album. I havn't heard anything like this in some years. The musicianship is well-crafted and shows signs of great talent, although the vocals is a bit too high pitched for my taste. KALMAH is destined for greatness if they maintain their integrity. GO FINLAND!!!

This is my favorite album of all time. People might have to ask what is so special on this disk that might warrant such a claim. For starters the sheer amount of melodies are astounding. The cd is a standard 8 songs and none over 6 min long. Which makes for a short cd...in fact their first two albums you can fit on a single cd. Anyways the music has a lot of rich and vibrant riffs that it seems you might be playing a video game. All the songs are like this and it doesn't get old. I've had this album since it came out and I am not sick of it at all. In fact it still gets regular play in my car and at home (5yrs later!). Not too many cd's I can assure you will get that much play 5 yrs down the line.

Note* They are not a Children of Bodom knock off...They have been around longer than CoB. Maybe not in the form of Kalmah but Eternal Tears of Sorrow! Buy this album if you like Melodic Metal!

This is the best album i've bought in a long time. There was not one song on here that i got bored w/ every song was as good as the last. i would definately recomend this album to any one who's a fan of epic metal.