Kalmah – “Seventh Swamphony”

The guys who institutionalized the swamp as being a legitimate geographic feature to sing about in metal music are back with their seventh studio album. At first look, the album title seems really silly. After all, who the heck makes a portmanteau word out of “swamp” and “symphony”? And then proceed to up the WTF factor by stringing it together with “seventh” to coin a phrase that seems to be referring to cello metal group Apocalyptica’s last album?

But it all makes sense upon hearing the grand sound of the record, as new keyboardist Veli-Matti Kananen certainly wants his instrument to command a greater presence in Kalmah’s music than it had before, even to the point of making it sound reminiscent of Children of Bodom’s trademark keyboard-as-a-main-instrument style of playing at times.

The guitar melodies on every track are extremely memorable and will hook onto your ears so tightly they will be torn off your head and eaten by the band’s swamp monster. But it pales slightly – just slightly – in comparison to those heard in older albums and classics such as Swamplord, They Will Return and Swampsong. The album artwork this time is unimpressive as it literally lacks colour, and as a result, it’s not a visual aid that complements the vibrant music well. Still, the music on this record kicks swampy butt, and it is all that truly matters.

Track Listing:

01. Seventh Swamphony [5:23]
02. Deadfall [3:52]
03. Pikemaster [5:04]
04. Hollo [7:21]
05. Windlake Tale [4:28]
06. Wolves in the Throne [4:36]
07. Black Marten’s Trace [4:45]
08. The Trapper [6:02]

Run Time: 41:27
Release Date: June 17, 2013

Check out the song “Seventh Swamphony”