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ChildClownOutlet
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:52 pm
Posts: 1579
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2023 5:44 pm 
 



If you didn't like their last album, this song wont change your mind. It's ok, for some reason, Kalmah since their last 3 albums have been releasing meh singles.
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Sokaris
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2004 2:33 am
Posts: 1234
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2023 7:38 pm 
 

Sounded damn solid to me. I don't think Kalmah will ever top their early work but it's not like they've been releasing duds either.
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77hjrttfred
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Jun 10, 2021 7:15 pm
Posts: 411
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2023 8:45 pm 
 

Personally, I thought the song sounded awesome. It was better than a number of the songs on the last album at least.

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AlienZombie
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2014 10:04 am
Posts: 129
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2023 10:38 pm 
 

I love Kalmah, and 12 Gauge is one of my all time favorite metal albums. Anyway, I dug the single, excited to hear the whole thing.

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doomicus
Metalhead

Joined: Wed May 14, 2008 5:58 am
Posts: 1261
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2023 10:39 pm 
 

Gross as fuck, won't listen.
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Metal_Jaw
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Sep 30, 2011 12:57 pm
Posts: 753
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2023 11:47 pm 
 

doomicus wrote:
Gross as fuck, won't listen.


..... what? Anyway, yeah it's predictably kick-ass as expected from Kalmah.

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HeavenDuff
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:35 pm
Posts: 5158
Location: Montréal
PostPosted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 12:17 am 
 

Sokaris wrote:
Sounded damn solid to me. I don't think Kalmah will ever top their early work but it's not like they've been releasing duds either.


Yeah, I'm with you on this. I'm not expecting them to ever release anything as solid as Swamplord, They Will Return or Swamplord, but if this album is anywhere near as good as 12 Gauge, for instance, I'll be happy.

New single is quite nice and makes me want to hear the whole thing :)

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lordcatfish
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:44 pm
Posts: 1461
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 4:43 am 
 

Yep, great song. Some albums are better than others, but everything they've released has been good at a minimum. These guys don't disappoint.
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henkkjelle
Metal freak

Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2011 3:54 pm
Posts: 4537
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 10:53 am 
 

The first single from the last album may be my least liked Kalmah song. The rest of that album is rock solid though, and so is this new song. Their last couple of albums may not be of equally superb quality as their older stuff but there are always a couple of songs on them that are.
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VaderCrush
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Nov 03, 2006 11:05 am
Posts: 221
PostPosted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 6:37 pm 
 

really good shit. this is gonna be a day one buy for me

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SentByTheDevil87
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2021 8:38 am
Posts: 40
Location: Future World
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 6:19 am 
 

I loved all of their stuff up to and including 12 Gauge. I tried to get into their albums after that but for some reason they aren't really doing it for me any more.

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Dullahan
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Sep 27, 2016 9:17 pm
Posts: 193
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 3:19 pm 
 

Not a fan of the mix (the bass drums sound muted), but the song itself is energetic enough. Much like with Insomnium, I prefer it when these guys crank up the tempo.

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ChildClownOutlet
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:52 pm
Posts: 1579
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 6:00 pm 
 

SentByTheDevil87 wrote:
I loved all of their stuff up to and including 12 Gauge. I tried to get into their albums after that but for some reason they aren't really doing it for me any more.


Seventh Swamphony was unironically in my opinion better than 12 Gauge, but yeah Palo takes some time to get into.
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narsilianshard
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Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:22 pm
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Location: PDX
PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 6:08 pm 
 

Agreed, Seventh Swamphony blows 12 Gauge out of the water.
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lordcatfish
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:44 pm
Posts: 1461
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Mon Mar 20, 2023 7:24 am 
 

New self titled album has been announced - release date May 26. Another new song, Drifting in a Dream, will be released this Friday.

Haunted by Guilt
Veil of Sin
Scarred by Sadness
No Words Sad Enough
Serve the Untrue
Home Sweet Hell
Tons of Chaos
Red and Black
Taken Before Given
Drifting in a Dream

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Curious_dead
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Sep 20, 2006 12:13 pm
Posts: 1476
PostPosted: Mon Mar 20, 2023 10:28 am 
 

One of my favorite bands. Looking forward to the new single. The first one was good, but I agree it wasn't the best mix.

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HeavenDuff
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:35 pm
Posts: 5158
Location: Montréal
PostPosted: Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:41 am 
 

I like the artwork for the album, and I'm really looking forward to it. Even if I don't think they can top their early material, Kalmah always delivers, and they have been consistently solid throughout their entire career.

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narsilianshard
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Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:22 pm
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Location: PDX
PostPosted: Mon Mar 20, 2023 12:32 pm 
 

Agreed. Even though Palo wasn't their strongest, it's hard to imagine Kalmah putting out a bad album. Pretty insane how impressive their run has been for 20+ years. Same goes for Insomnium. Hopefully this means another North American tour!
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lordcatfish
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:44 pm
Posts: 1461
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Fri Mar 24, 2023 4:48 am 
 

Here's the latest single.

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ChildClownOutlet
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:52 pm
Posts: 1579
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Mar 24, 2023 11:51 am 
 

lordcatfish wrote:
Here's the latest single.



It’s like a combo of The Trapper and Ready for Salvation. Unfortunately I never liked the Trapper so eh the song kind of plods along. Ugh. Please tell me you guys are just releasing the meh singles first.
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henkkjelle
Metal freak

Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2011 3:54 pm
Posts: 4537
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Fri Mar 24, 2023 6:31 pm 
 

That song rules, but then again I absolutely love The Trapper. It has some Moon Of My Nights in it as well.
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Kalaratri
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Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:22 pm
Posts: 2870
PostPosted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 10:54 am 
 

I've pretty much liked everything Kalmah has done so I'm sure I'll like this. First two singles are solid. My favourite Kalmah era is probably their middle period (The Black Waltz and For The Revolution), those albums are the perfect mix between their early, more neoclassical/power metal sound and the thrashier direction they went in later.

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ChildClownOutlet
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:52 pm
Posts: 1579
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 11:49 pm 
 

I still think FTR is their best album anyways.
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Kalaratri
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Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:22 pm
Posts: 2870
PostPosted: Sun Mar 26, 2023 9:06 am 
 

For the Revolution has some of my absolute favourite songs of theirs, like Holy Symphony of War and Wings of Blackening. It doesn't seem to get that much love as far as MA reviews, but I think it's an underrated gem.

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lordcatfish
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:44 pm
Posts: 1461
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Tue Apr 25, 2023 6:05 am 
 

There's another single coming out on Friday called "Taken Before Given" - the song was written in 1991

"The song was written already back in 1991 and contains pure, young thrash metal energy with aggressive, good-old riffs. Back in that time we could not get a recording deal with the songs we had, so it is payback time. This is swamp metal from the turf roots of Northern Finland"
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lordcatfish
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:44 pm
Posts: 1461
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 5:45 am 
 

... and here it is

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HeavenDuff
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:35 pm
Posts: 5158
Location: Montréal
PostPosted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 11:59 am 
 

Even if their first three records remain my favorite work of theirs, I can only respect just how consistant these guys have been throughout their career. Even their weaker releases still have bangers. Based on the singles released so far, this following album is promising to be a solid record, and maybe a contender for top 10 albums of the year, in my case.

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ChildClownOutlet
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:52 pm
Posts: 1579
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 4:56 pm 
 

lordcatfish wrote:
... and here it is



What the hell, this sounds like "Wings of Blackening" lol. Also the second half of the song is much better than the first.
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awhiteguy
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2008 7:31 pm
Posts: 8
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2023 11:36 pm 
 

ChildClownOutlet wrote:
What the hell, this sounds like "Wings of Blackening" lol. Also the second half of the song is much better than the first.


It does sound dangerously close to being a remix of Wings of Blackening, which is one of my favourites. I had that issue with their last album where it seemed like they were reusing some of their older melodies. Hopefully they aren't creatively dry, but they've had a good and consistent run.

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narsilianshard
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Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:22 pm
Posts: 3618
Location: PDX
PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2023 1:19 pm 
 

Album is out today! and there is definitely a lot of recycling going on. The intro to Home Sweet Hell is the exact same as the For The Revolution chorus. Come on guys :(
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henkkjelle
Metal freak

Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2011 3:54 pm
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Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2023 2:51 pm 
 

There are definitely moments on the album where I went "I swear I heard this already". A lot of the songs lack strong standout melodies as well so they just kinda glide by without you remembering much. The messy production doesn't do it any favours either. It almost sounds demo-like in places. Not in a good way that gives it a rough edge, but in a muddy "I can barely hear the bass drums during the chorus" way.

At this moment I'd rank it on the low end of their discography, and maybe even at the bottom if the next two or three spins fail to convince me. Not a bad album - I'd give it a 6.5 or a 7, but that's very low for Kalmah. Standout tracks are the 3 singles.
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narsilianshard
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PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2023 3:01 pm 
 

Yeah, it's weird to say this is maybe their worst because it's too Kalmah-y, because I adore their sound, but the self-plagiarism is just plain lazy.
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Curious_dead
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Sep 20, 2006 12:13 pm
Posts: 1476
PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2023 11:23 am 
 

OK, so not just me, then. I had several moments where I thought Spotify had bugged and skipped to another, previous album because a part reminded me of another song.

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agent_fist
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2015 5:04 pm
Posts: 74
PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2023 12:00 pm 
 

I'm not sure what it is exactly, but I also find the production unpleasant and weird. It's bad enough that I'm giving up mid-album to listen to something else (especially 12 Gauge). It's like everything is too loud compared to everything else. Tiring to the ear.

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ChildClownOutlet
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:52 pm
Posts: 1579
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun May 28, 2023 1:44 am 
 

Alright so basically, whatever the consensus for FTR on this site is, just throw it on this album instead. Man what the hell. It’s not even bad. It’s just a not as good version of Palo and even that takes too long to go into. Scarred and veil are pretty decent tunes though.
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Disembodied
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2019 4:29 am
Posts: 284
PostPosted: Sun May 28, 2023 3:16 am 
 

These guys are still carrying the torch for the CoB inspired melodic death metal. Or, I would be tempted to say melodic death metal as a whole.

Dark Tranquillity and In Flames lost their mojo decades ago and I never got the hype for Insomnium or Omnium Gatherum or other similar bands.

This is aggressive, melodic and memorable without being dark which is all I really ask from this type of music. Don't know why it's so hard for so many bands who attempt this style.

Palo I didn't enjoy nearly as much as this. Great album.

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rarezuzuh
Metal newbie

Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2021 1:33 pm
Posts: 217
PostPosted: Mon May 29, 2023 8:03 pm 
 

Just got around to listening to it, and this is a weird one for me. Objectively this is incredibly derivative of their previous work, going far beyond the general lack of stylistic development that we unfortunately expect from most bands after 20+ years, and extending into blatant self plagiarism on several different songs. I know all this is true, but I'm still finding the album fun to listen to, probably somewhat more than it deserves.

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Seto
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Jan 23, 2007 11:02 am
Posts: 194
PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2023 7:47 am 
 

rarezuzuh wrote:
Just got around to listening to it, and this is a weird one for me. Objectively this is incredibly derivative of their previous work, going far beyond the general lack of stylistic development that we unfortunately expect from most bands after 20+ years, and extending into blatant self plagiarism on several different songs. I know all this is true, but I'm still finding the album fun to listen to, probably somewhat more than it deserves.


"Fun" is definitely an apt description for it. TBH, I thought it was pretty middling after a couple of listens, but I keep coming back to it and it keeps getting better. I find myself humming the melodies all day when I'm not listening to it too. Really solid release.

With that said, I basically skipped everything from The Black Waltz to this apart from a few listens of Palo, which I enjoyed, so maybe I am not really hearing the self-plagiarism as much.

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ChildClownOutlet
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:52 pm
Posts: 1579
Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2023 4:06 pm 
 

Seto wrote:
rarezuzuh wrote:
Just got around to listening to it, and this is a weird one for me. Objectively this is incredibly derivative of their previous work, going far beyond the general lack of stylistic development that we unfortunately expect from most bands after 20+ years, and extending into blatant self plagiarism on several different songs. I know all this is true, but I'm still finding the album fun to listen to, probably somewhat more than it deserves.


"Fun" is definitely an apt description for it. TBH, I thought it was pretty middling after a couple of listens, but I keep coming back to it and it keeps getting better. I find myself humming the melodies all day when I'm not listening to it too. Really solid release.

With that said, I basically skipped everything from The Black Waltz to this apart from a few listens of Palo, which I enjoyed, so maybe I am not really hearing the self-plagiarism as much.



Seventh Swamphony was much more diverse compared to Palo/ST. This isn't a bad album at all, especially that melody in Veil of Sin, but it just couldve been more.
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HeavenDuff
Metal freak

Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:35 pm
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Location: Montréal
PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2023 5:35 pm 
 

rarezuzuh wrote:
Just got around to listening to it, and this is a weird one for me. Objectively this is incredibly derivative of their previous work, going far beyond the general lack of stylistic development that we unfortunately expect from most bands after 20+ years, and extending into blatant self plagiarism on several different songs. I know all this is true, but I'm still finding the album fun to listen to, probably somewhat more than it deserves.


I find that we sometime forget that music can be just well-crafted, enjoyable, fun stuff that doesn't need to reinvent the wheel. I don't think Kalmah needs to reinvent themselves at this point. They have established a sound that is very distinctively theirs, that is immediately recognizable, and I find that just writing good, efficient, energetic and dynamic metal is what matters the most for their music to work at this point. If the songs are well-constructed, if they have catchy melodies, solid hooks, choruses, a lot of energy and lots of keyboards and guitar solos, then I'm happy.

Now of course, an album can be too derivative, it can be a boring copypaste of previous work (you know, like what Arch Enemy has been doing for 15 years now) but I don't think it's the case with this new Kalmah album. It's very much rooted in the Kalmah tradition, and it doesn't stray away from what one would expect from them, but it's still original enough for me to want to revisit it instead of just play the first three records over and over again. The way I feel about this album is kind of similar to what I feel with newer Cannibal Corpse or Skeletal Remains records. They didn't surprise me much, and they didn't break new grounds in terms of originality, but I still enjoy them a lot for what they are: well-written, well-crafted, efficient, dynamic and energetic metal.

And I mean, this new Kalmah record sure has epic sections! Damn!

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