Kalmah

Kalmah

Kalmah is a melodic death metal band from Oulu, Finland that formed in 1998. In less than a year after its formation, Kalmah was signed by Spinefarm Records, a Finnish record label. "Kalmah" is Karelian and could be translated as "to the grave" or "to the death". The band is often termed "Swamp Metal" after their album cover themes.

History

File:Kalmah logo.png

Kalmah's official logo from 2000 to 2006

Kalmah began in 1991 when Pekka Kokko and Petri Sankala founded the band Ancestor which originally played thrash metal, speed metal and death metal. After Ancestor had recorded two demos, Antti Kokko joined the band as lead guitarist. In 1998, after having recorded five demos and going through five different bassists whose names are unknown, Ancestor disbanded, and was refounded as Kalmah. The new band consisted of Pekka Kokko (vocals, guitar), Antti Kokko (lead guitar), Pasi Hiltula (keyboards), Altti Veteläinen (bass), and Petri Sankala (drums) and converted to melodic death metal, but still incorporating their original styles.

The newly formed Kalmah then began to write new songs for a promotional CD entitled Svieri Obraza. With this demo, they acquired a recording contract with Spinefarm Records. The band then headed to Tico-Tico Studios to record their debut album.

Their debut album, Swamplord, was released in 2000. The band had dozens of interviews and played a few shows in Finland before heading back to their rehearsal place to write the follow-up to Swamplord.

By November 2001, the band had returned to Tico-Tico Studios to record their second studio album, They Will Return. However, the line-up had changed due to the departure of Altti Veteläinen and Petri Sankala. They were replaced by Timo Lehtinen on bass and Janne Kusmin on drums.

In 2002, Kalmah played a couple of shows in Finland and played at Wacken Open Air. Late in 2002, the band began to write new songs for their third studio album. In February 2003, Kalmah once again returned to Tico-Tico Studios with ten new songs for their third studio album entitled Swampsong. In 2004, keyboardist Pasi Hiltula decided to leave the band. Marco Sneck later joined the band as the new keyboardist.

In November 2005, the band once again returned to Tico-Tico Studios to record their fourth studio album, The Black Waltz. The new album which consisted of eleven new songs was recorded and mixed at Tico-Tico Studios, and mastered by Mika Jusilla at Finnvox.

In May 2007, their fifth studio album was announced on their official site and is said to be released in Winter/Spring 2008. Kalmah have stated that they have seven songs ready and will enter the studios with Ahti Kortelainen in October to record the next album. The new album is said to be heavier and even more riff-oriented than those before it, but the melodies and basic Kalmah sound will still be present.

On January 22, 2008, it was announced on their official site that the mixing of the album has been completed and that the album is ready for mastering.The album layout is on the way and the promo shootings and the basic idea for the cover and booklet have been completed. The album was released on April 23, 2008.

The new Kalmah album is titled 'For the Revolution'

Musical style

Kalmah's musical style is largely influenced by melodic death metal, thrash metal, and speed metal. Kalmah is often compared to other metal bands from Finland such as Children of Bodom and Norther, possessing a heavy yet powerfully melodic sound. Like Children of Bodom and Norther, Kalmah exhibits some neo-classical metal elements in their music along with prominent keyboard melodies. The 2006 album The Black Waltz also shows symphonic elements.

Kalmah's first three albums relied more on higher pitched, screamed vocals but on The Black Waltz album, they have opted for lower death growl style vocals, while retaining elements from their previous albums. On their most recent album, For the Revolution, they have mixed both styles of vocals from their previous albums.

Kalmah has changed their tuning from a half-step down [E flat] (used in their first two albums, Swamplord and They Will Return) to a full step down [D] (used in their third and fourth albums, Swampsong and The Black Waltz) and finally to one and a half step down [D flat] (used in their latest release, For The Revolution) moving towards a lower, heavier sound as they advance.

Discography

Demos and EPs

• Ethereal Devotion − (Ancestor) (1992)
• Material World God − (Ancestor) (1993)
• With No Strings Attached − (Ancestor) (1996)
• Tomorrow − (Ancestor) (1997)
• Under the Burbot's Nest − (Ancestor) (1998)
• Svieri Obraza (1999) − Promo
• Demo 2004 (2004) − Unreleased

Studio albums

• Swamplord (2000)
• They Will Return (2002)
• Swampsong (2003)
• The Black Waltz (2006)
• For the Revolution (2008)
• Sixth studio album (Spring 2009)

Videos

• "Withering Away" (2000)
• "The Groan of Wind" (2006)

Cover songs

• "Skin O' My Teeth" − Megadeth
• "This Mortal Coil" − Carcass
• "Arise" − Sepultura

Band members

Current members

• Pekka Kokko – Vocals, Guitar (1998–present)
• Antti Kokko – Lead guitar (1998–present)
• Marco Sneck – Keyboards (2004–present)
• Timo Lehtinen – Bass (2001–present)
• Janne Kusmin – Drums (2001–present)

Former members

• Anssi Seppänen − Guitar (1992−1993)
• Altti Veteläinen – Bass (1998–2001)
• Petri Sankala – Drums (1998–2001)
• Pasi Hiltula – Keyboards (1999–2004)
• Antti-Matti Talala – Keyboards

External links

• Kalmah – official website
• Kalmah − Spinefarm Records
• Kalmah – official MySpace