Band:	Kalmah
Album:	Kalmah
Style:	Melodic death metal, Extreme power metal
Release date:	May 2023

01. Haunted By Guilt
02. Veil Of Sin
03. Scarred By Sadness
04. No Words Sad Enough
05. Serve The Untrue
06. Home Sweet Hell
07. Tons Of Chaos
08. Red And Black
09. Taken Before Given
10. Drifting In A Dream

I’ve spoken before about my trepidation when bands release self-titled records late into their career. Based on my theory for self-titled albums in the Lamb Of God reviews, Kalmah isn’t the start of a new era for the band that shares its name, but thankfully it isn’t a harbinger of decline for the group either; this is just a damn good record.

Behind Children Of Bodom and Wintersun, Kalmah are probably the most reputable extreme power metal group (goddamn, is this a subgenre absolutely dominated by Finnish bands), but while those two acts aren’t likely to produce any new material soon (the former due to tragedy, the latter due to farce), Kalmah remain active. Not super active, since this is their first album in 5 years, and only their third in the last 10, but at least they’ve prioritized creating quality music rather than focusing on sauna upgrades.

Although their earliest albums get the most love, Kalmah have been fairly consistent across their career, and one thing that has remained since their early days as Swamplords is an ear for melody. That melody feels a bit closer to the Gothenburg scene and bands such as Dark Tranquillity these days; from the off, “Haunted By Guilt” features DT-style lead guitar riffs and hooks. At the same time, the riffing during verses on certain songs, such as “Veil Of Sin” and “Home Sweet Hell”, perhaps feels slightly closer to Finnish melodeath like Omnium Gatherum. Between these two waypoints is a whole lot of energetic power metal-on-steroids reminiscent of Children Of Bodom and, well, Kalmah; the album bearing the band’s name is very much reflective of their own style.

An album like this is going to live or die on its hooks, and Kalmah has enough hooks to empty a lake. “Veil Of Sin” is slightly chuggy in the verses, but the choruses explode to life with lively lead guitar melodies and tasty synth lines, while the high-octane “Scarred By Sadness” shows off with an explosive sequence of guitar solo, keyboard solo, and guitar-keyboard duet. The two songs that most consistently drew my attention, however, have been “Home Sweet Hell” and “Red And Black”. In the former, the deep, low-end chug in the verses perhaps doesn’t excel, but the chorus guitar hook is going to embed itself so deep in your brain that it’ll take weeks to forget it. The latter has a warmly melancholic folk touch to it that reminds me just a tad of Ensiferum’s most recent record (and perhaps the song “For Sirens” in particular); it stands out tonally from most of the songs it shares the tracklist is, and is delightfully written.

These songs stand out most strongly to me, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the album doesn’t impress. “No Words Sad Enough” is notable in how sorrowful its tone is, right down to the tender cello and acoustic guitar, but it doesn’t spill over into melodrama and retains its conviction. The other song that notably departs from the high-energy template of most of the other songs is the resolutely mid-tempo “Drifting In A Dream”, which perhaps slightly drags in moments before its 5 minutes are over, but it ends on a high note with stirring, dramatic harmonies rounding out the record.

As far as negatives go, I don’t really have any; while it's not wall-to-wall highlights, this is a really consistent record, one with a good level of quality throughout, and enough ebbs and flows in tempo or vibe to avoid a sense of saminess encroaching. If anything could be criticized, the production isn’t the best, but even then, I’ve not found it nearly as distracting as some people I’ve seen comment online about it. It’s taken 5 years to make, but those years haven’t been wasted; Kalmah chose a worthy record to bestow the self-titled honour upon.