Band:	Kalmah
Album:	Palo
Style:	Melodic death metal, Extreme power metal
Release date:	April 2018

01. Blood Ran Cold
02. The Evil Kin
03. The World Of Rage
04. Into The Black Marsh
05. Take Me Away
06. Paystreak
07. Waiting In The Wings
08. Through The Shallow Waters
09. Erase And Diverge
10. The Stalker
11. Lovers On The Sun [David Guetta cover] [Japanese bonus]

Given that, on 26 May 2023, Kalmah will be releasing their self-titled album, it is perhaps wise to look into their earliest, as well as their latest, works. The swamp-striders have remained ever consistent over the years, as well as faithful to their original style, and Palo very much continues these trends.

In general, if we compare Palo to a coffee jar, he who orders may rest assured to receive a solid 100% Kalmah nutrient content – and this is as much an advantage as it is a minor con. See, this album consists of a 5-minute track, followed by eight 4-minute songs and finally a five-minuter (let’s just call it that). One song after another, we get package after package of typically-Kalmah tonic-heavy harmonies and high-pitched melodies from the lead guitarist, Antti Kokko. Mind you, the instrumental and vocal performance throughout the record leave little space for complaints. Notably, “The Evil Kin” comes up with a rhythm guitar riff surprisingly reminding the listener of recent efforts from Exodus, whilst on “Paystreak”, the band exhibits a masterful performance of an epic and masterfully written instrument part, which is later utilized as the backbone for the song’s chorus. And as a rule of thumb, any time the keyboards take on a primary role, my audiophilic ear is pleased. Highly.

The primary issue I have with Palo lies in its relative lack of variety. It is not a complete lack, of course – tracks 3 and 5 introduce something ever important to the band’s success - atmosphere-building instrumental intros. Even if the following skeins of riffs do not always stand out in and of themselves, the intros grasp the listener’s attention and put strong emphasis on those otherwise seamlessly blending songs. What the album lacks, in my opinion, is the interweaving of instrumental intros in the second half of the album to set the stage for what is to come, or even altogether separate interludes. The only remaining deficits can be described via a comparison to Swampsong from 15 years prior; essentially, “Blood Ran Cold” does not deliver a punch equal to the particularity of “Heroes to Us”, while “The Stalker” attempts, but fails by a miniscule margin, to match the scope of the emotional potency of “Moon Of My Nights”.

A word must be said about the production as well. Something is a little bit off – my view, based on a solely empirical perspective, is that the very loud mix of rapid drumming and already highly distorted guitarwork results in a wall-of-sound that isn’t very pleasant to the ear, and, unlike that of City by Strapping Young Lad, does not seem wholly intentional. In the record’s defense, the production does not differ that much from that of Kalmah’s earlier efforts, so it can be considered a nod to the past.

For better or worse, Palo is certainly a Kalmah album - it is no less than one, but also little more. Keep in mind, however, that it does not constitute by any means a significant decrease in quality. The boys have done it again.