Kalmah – 12 Gauge (2010) Review 8.8/10

Something new just arrived from the swamp.  Kalmah’s sixth studio album, 12 Gauge, is here. The melodies are instantly catchy, the aggression is there, the guitars sound thick, and the singing is just as intense as ever. If there is one thing Kalmah is it’s consistent.

If you are new to Kalmah (where have you been?), these Finnish swamp lords play a technical breed of melodic death metal.  You can also hear a little black metal influence here and there, particularly in some of the vocals from Pekka Kokko and some of the more aggressive guitar lines.

I have this friend who doesn’t really listen to metal (he is still stuck on grunge) and the last few times he has stopped by I’ve been listening to Kalmah. Each time he asked, “What is this, some kind of video game death metal?”

The hooks are so strong and catchy that they sometimes do sound like something that would work in a video game. Mario would be so much cooler if he rocked out to Kalmah.

Let’s analyze for a moment: On their first few albums the sound was epic and aggressive. It was slightly raw despite the prominent keyboards. The songs were catchy but the hooks weren’t as defined as they were on their last album, For the Revolution. To me, 12 Gauge brings back some of the older Kalmah style and mixes it with the new sound. It’s epic and aggressive while featuring amazing riffing and catchy melodies. I also like that this music does not insulting the listener by being predictable or watered down. It’s Kalmah all the way through.

They do love to use the keyboard (as usual). Their keyboarding is always there to add depth and thicken the already catchy melodies. One of the beauties of it is that it never overpowers the guitars or weakens the sound. This is one of the few melodic death metal bands that can tear your head off.

I don’t think this is their best work to date. There are better songs on just about every Kalmah album to date. We do have some amazing songs here and an album worthy of the “Kalmah” name. I believe someone mentioned that they knew about Kalmah but never really looked into them. This is a good place to start and after you “get it”, go back and explore their older material. Thank me later.

8.8/10

Kalmah – 12 Gauge (2010) Review 8.8/10