Kalmah – Palo (2018)

After a period of five years since the band’s last release, fans were eagerly awaiting the latest offering from Finish Melodic Death Metal act Kalmah. Under the title “Palo”, the band unleashes one of the most brilliant onslaughts of melodic music ever to be recorded. Clocking in at around 46 minutes, Kalmah delivers ten tracks of impressive quality that feature their signature style with a modern sounding edge, making it their best release to date.

Opening with the catchy riffs of “Blood Ran Cold”, the band sets a very epic melodic mood from the start. With a very Finish Melodic Death Metal sound, the band instantly brings memories of their earlier works and the guitar acrobatics of bands like Children of Bodom. However, not everything is just blistering solos, as the band has some of the chunkiest riffs in the business as we can hear in the opening of “The Evil Kin” and the melancholic “The World of Rage”.

The mixture of deep growls and shrieks perfectly delivers contrast and changes the timing of some passages in the release. That paired with the dramatic keyboards of Veli-Matti Kananen allows for a superbly epic and complex sound, as you can hear in “Into the Black Marsh”. The Kokko brothers guitar acrobatics are quite impressive as they deliver meaty riffs and impressive solos, making songs like “Paystreak” and one of our favorites: “Waiting in the Wings” and “Erase and Diverge”.

As one of the pioneers of this Finish Melodic Death Metal sound, Kalmah continues to expand their creativity and deliver one of the most impressive albums in the history of the genre. Featuring a sound that has inspired or has been inspired by bands like Noumena, Children of Bodom, early Amorphis, etc, “Palo” is one hell of a release that will keep you headbanging from start to end, so be sure not to miss buying a copy of it.

Label: Spinefarm Records

Release: April 6th, 2018

Genre: Melodic Death Metal

Country: Finland