KALMAH
Its happened again! From seemingly out of nowhere came this ball-busting release. There was absolutely no warning whatsoever. I heard just three short samples the day I heard this release was on the market and within three days had the CD. I was completely blown away after one track. This Finnish act is a top-notch contender for the Finnish Metal crown.Now after hearing THRONE OF CHAOS and openly remarking on the near-plagiarism of that bands debut release I was not much in the mood for hearing another clone of CHILDREN OF BODOM. However, what separates KALMAH from a clone band like THRONE OF CHAOS is their ability to formulate their own characteristics, spawned from obvious inlfuences such as the aforementioned Finnish icon. In addition, there manifests on this album hints of SOILWORK which are evident in some of the riff architectures. The material, nonetheless, is extremely strong and stands on its very own merits just fine.
Swamplord is of the blazing neo-classical Thrash/Death school of BODOM. Being of the Finnish variety, one doesn't find themselves surprised but KALMAH are not just a reasonable facsimile of COB, they are in fact a very young, talented set of musicians who write and construct fantastic songs that have the feel of true veteranship. This sounds like anything but a debut as this set of 8 songs is strongly written and played and done so with a polished perspective. Given that this new style of Nordic Metal is rapidly gaining popularity of wonder why we aren't hearing more of this these days. The deal is however, that it takes musicians who are skilled and creative enough to execute this sort of brainy, high-energy Metal. KALMAH have proven they are every bit as capable as the gods from BODOM and have enough of their own ingenuity to come up with a style that doesn't rely entirely on BODOM-esque behavior. Swamplord is complex and intricate; about every bit as anything CHILDREN OF BODOM have done as well. KALMAH build songs that ride on the strength of their great guitar duet who have come up with some sharp, classic riffs and sprawled them evenly among the 8 tracks on Swamplord. If you want ripping speed, its here. If you want technical, mid-tempo melodies, its here. If you want wild guitar antics and mindblowing leads, its here too. In short, this is the complete package. The fine sound production and clever structural qualities of the album give it the winning advantage. I especially enjoyed the interplay between the backdrop of the keyboards and the stabbing riffage of the Kokko brothers.
KALMAH are cutting edge neo-classical Progressive Death/Thrash that must be consumed by all audiences. This album was recorded nearly a year ago and hopefully we will not have to wait long before KALMAH are back in the studio again because their capabilities are superior to much of what I have been hearing out of Finland these days. Swamplord is a magnificent debut and easily one of the best of 2001. With one album KALMAH have established themselves among the very elite of the Scandinavian scene. That all means you must own this - immediately.
