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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The beautiful music of the untouched swamps, August 21, 2005
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.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely AMAZING Album!! Kalmah's best since Swamplord!!, November 3, 2003
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/
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heroes to me., October 20, 2004
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.
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