Kalmah - Swamplord
Spikefarm Records
Melodic Death Metal
8 songs (38'42)
Release year: 2000
Kalmah, Spikefarm Records
Reviewed by Chris
Album of the month

Kalmah are another melodic death metal band from Spikefarm... they include some black metal element in their music but mainly it's more melodic death metal music. The melodic guitars of Kalmah are the leading point of their music, that is quite similar to a band called Eternal Tears Of Sorrow. Being even more melodic than ETOS, they also include some of these black metal moments that I'm not fund of.

The vocals are screamy and growly, just like they should be for that kind of music I guess. Drums are fast and the overall production is excellent. Kalmah have a strong and powerfull sound. The album is a very good balance of melody and agressivity, with raging vocals, mind blowing riffs, but always witth the leading guitar being highly melodic. Compared to bands like ETOS or Children Of Bodom, the keyboards are less present (actually it's always there... it's maybe less in front), but when it's used, it's used smartly and is part of their amazing sound. The album rages on and on and you quickly lose track of time while listening to it.

This album may not bring anything new in the genre, but it's a fully charged atomic bomb of melodic death metal, a bit short (less than 40 minutes for only 8 songs) but the quality is at the rendez-vous. An excellent release for every fan of the genre. If you like bands like Children Of Bodom, ETOS or Dark Tranquility... then check out Kalmah, especially if you love highly melodic guitar moments and agressive music. Congratulations !

Killing Songs :
All !
Chris quoted 90 / 100
Other albums by Kalmah that we have reviewed:
Kalmah - Seventh Swamphony reviewed by Jared and quoted 95 / 100
Kalmah - 12 Gauge reviewed by Jared and quoted 88 / 100
Kalmah - For The Revolution reviewed by James and quoted 83 / 100
Kalmah - The Black Waltz reviewed by Jason and quoted 89 / 100
Kalmah - Swampsong reviewed by Jay and quoted 88 / 100
To see all 7 reviews click here
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