Kalmah: New Songs from Upcoming 'Palo' Album

The date is fast approaching when Kalmah is set to release 'Palo' upon the world. It's been a long wait since 'Seventh Swamphony'. With a band as proficient at melodic death as these Finns, I'm excited to see what's in store on this one. I wasn't overly enthused after hearing the first release, "Evil Kin", but the second song released, "Blood Ran Cold", has upped the ante.

Exploring the Roots Of Finnish Folk Metal with Wolfhorde

Finland's Wolfhorde is often hailed as blackened folk metal, and I suppose rightfully so as the atmospheric elements of black metal can be heard interspersed throughout their work. In fact, they are a pretty good embodiment of that unique 'Finnish sound' that makes many bands from that particular country identifiable, even if you have never listened to them before. It's a sound that seems to permeate (to some extent) almost every band from Finland, no matter which sub-genre of metal.

Wolfhorde's 2016 release, 'Towards The Gates Of North', was one of the more memorable releases of the year for me and the band is set to release a new EP on December 1st. Titled 'The Great Old Ones', it's a three song tribute to the roots of Finnish folk metal covering a few of the true masters of the genre: Finntroll, Moonsorrow and (early) Amorphis. I'm stoked to hear this in its entirety, as the teaser promises good things:

Wolfheart - Tyhjyys Review

 1. Shores of Lake Simpele

 2. Boneyard

 3. World On Fire

 4. The Flood

 5. The Rift

 6. Call Of The Winter

 7. Dead White

 8. Tyhjyys

Tyhjyys begins with the hauntingly beautiful track, ‘Shores Of Lake Simpele’. It’s a mellow instrumental but sets the atmosphere for the remainder of the album as many of the songs contain segments that verge on soothing, interspersed with segments containing a more traditional melo-death harshness. Long instrumental breaks are characteristic of Wolfheart but they are well-crafted and fit with the flow of the album. Wolfheart manages to capture the cold somberness often associated with Finnish melodic death metal; that feeling of melancholy and of desolation. Tuomas Saukkonen’s growling vocals serve to accentuate the angrier moments contained within the album.

‘The Rift’ presents some distinctly death metal elements, but still retains melody. This is true of the entire album, although the purest death elements are found within this track. Tyhjyys is expertly written with each segment flowing seamlessly into the next. It would be difficult to point out any obvious weaknesses in Wolfheart’s third full-length release.

Meaning ‘emptiness’ in the Finnish language, Tyhjyys captures the complexity of the word. Which may seem contradictory at first thought, but some listeners will understand perfectly. It stands out as a journey through the empty void that the prevailing theme of natures’ power is capable of evoking. Perhaps it’s reading too much into the album (and perhaps not) to say that it’s a powerful allegory in itself.

Tyhjyys isn’t an album that will turn a non-listener of the sub-genre into a fan of melo-death. It’s not an album that when given a superficial listen will warrant several replays. However, upon glimpsing beyond the surface, Tyhjyys is a bewitchingly somber, intricate, immersive album deserving of a thorough listen.

Best tracks: Shores Of Lake Simpele, Tyhjyys, Call Of The Winter

Documentary Preview: 'Home of the Wind - A History of Moonsorrow'

Pagan & folk metal fans rejoice! A Moonsorrow documentary is currently in the works, funded largely by an Indiegogo campaign. While I'm not entirely a fan of crowdfunding campaigns, I think it's interesting to see some of these projects come to fruition that would likely not be possible otherwise. The one thing that irritates me regarding this documentary is that physical copies apparently will NOT be made available unless you support the Indiegogo campaign and choose to pledge the amount that offers a physical copy as one of the perks. Which, as a currently almost flat-broke metalhead, is a little annoying. Why not sell some physical copies through an official webstore for the band or somewhere similar once the project is complete? This would allow some fans who can't currently contribute to the crowdfunding campaign to have an opportunity to get ahold of a physical copy in the future. Personally, I hate the idea of only being able to potentially access a digital copy.

That being said:
This upcoming documentary has the full support of the band members of Moonsorrow, and the teaser clips look pretty promising. Some of the discussion surrounding paganism and Moonsorrow's influences are particularly relevant and intriguing.

Beautiful film poster by Kris Verwimp

For more visit the following links:
https://www.facebook.com/homeofthewind/?fref=ts

https://www.moshville.co.uk/news/2016/06/moonsorrow-documentary-home-of-the-wind-nears-crowdfunding-target/

http://www.andjusticeforart.com/2016/06/world-exclusive-unveiling-poster-for.html

Kalmah: Worth The Wait (A Live Review)

Kalmah with Vesperia, Trollband, Mongol

April 19th, 2016

Starlite Room

The Starlite Room contained a surprisingly decent sized crowd early in the evening to witness local support acts Mongol and Trollband. Mongol, in typical fashion, played an energetic set that was genuinely enjoyed by the audience. Rising through the folk metal ranks, they also shared a new song with the horde (The Mountain Weeps). Trollband further pumped up the crowd, many of whom were already quite familiar with the band’s interesting mix of blackened folk metal. Vesperia, hailed as “epic death metal from the frozen north” were a perfect segue from the more folkish stylings of the first two openers to the more deathish stylings of Kalmah. 

After waiting nearly ten years to see Kalmah live, the Finns didn’t disappoint. Emerging from the swampy depths of Oulu (which is probably not that swampy at all, but it sounded good), they tore up the Starlite. While one typically doesn’t think of a melodic death metal band and a sense of humor going hand-in-hand, vocalist Pekka Kokko cracked a few jokes throughout the night and genuinely seemed to be enjoying the gig. Kalmah played a good mix of old and newer material. This was to the liking of many of the fans although Kalmah is one of those bands who has never released an album that could be recognized as anything less than strong. ‘Pikemaster’ came off sounding particularly awesome as the energy of the band never seemed to wane through the set. 

Personally, I would have loved to hear ‘Wings Of Blackening’, but with such a strong repertoire of material to choose from, it would have been impossible to fit all of the favorites into the length of a single set. Perhaps it was one of those songs Pekka Kokko forgot how to play, which was another humorous quip from the frontman. Amidst a dismal spring filled with uncertainty for many metalheads in this province, Kalmah provided the perfect dose of melo-death, proving that the wait to see the Finns live was more than worth it.

From The Vault: Finnish Metal Tour Review (2011)

I stumbled across this review I wrote way back in 2011 for the Finnish Metal Tour featuring Finntroll, Ensiferum, Rotten Sound and Barren Earth. It was originally done for a blog for the university's heavy metal student club. I still feel just as uncomfortable writing decent reviews as I did then. 

Finnish Metal Tour: A Personal Review

February 15th, 2011

The night appeared doomed to a slow start, with only a handful of people in line when doors were opened at eight. The frigid weather, made worse by a biting wind, may have factored into this but it seemed strangely appropriate for a night when four bands from Finland were slated to play. A quick stop at the merchandise table made me wish I was able to afford the price wanted for the hand drawn artwork of Finntroll guitarist, Skrymer. 

            There was an abysmal lack of concert goers in the Starlite Room as Barren Earth took the stage. Although the music of Barren Earth was not particularly appealing to me, they performed a solid set, sounding somewhat like Opeth at times. By the time Rotten Sound made their appearance on stage, more fans had trickled in. The fast and heavy stylings of Rotten Sound served to energize the crowd, creating an atmosphere more appropriate to a small venue filled with loud music. All of those at the front were quickly caught up in the headbanging and those back a little further created an impressive pit considering the number of people participating. Rotten Sound knew exactly what to do to pump up the crowd, encouraging moshing that was equally as hard and fast as their music. Even those who were unfamiliar with the band seemed to thoroughly enjoy the set. 

            Unfortunately the people behind me during Ensiferum made the set slightly less enjoyable but Ensiferum seemed to be the highlight of the night for many fans. (Perhaps because english lyrics are much more accessible than the Swedish language lyrics of Finntroll.) A friend commented that this was possibly the best set he had heard Ensiferum play on their numerous stops in Edmonton. Long time fans of the band were delighted to hear Token of Time, from the band’s self titled debut album. From Afar, Deathbringer From the Sky and Ahti were favorites with the audience, with many shouting out the words along with vocalist Petri Lindroos. Victory Song was another huge hit with the crowd, as well as the final tune, Iron. The beer was flowing and the crowd was rowdy and excited throughout the twelve song set. In the final minutes of the set, guitarist Markus Toivonen impressed the crowd by playing a solo behind his back. Ensiferum, with their trademark kilts and black war paint, were solid and crowd pleasing. 

            As Finntroll took the stage, many people seemed content to sit back, drink a beer and watch the show. After using the song Blodmarsch as the introduction, Finntroll burst into a thundering rendition of Solsagen. Throughout the set, a handful of fans were screaming for Ett Norrskensdåd and Eliytres and left satisfied as both songs were included in the set. Although Finntroll’s drummer was apparently quite ill and other band members were recovering from being sick, one never would have guessed from the energetic set. Vocalist Mathias ‘Vreth’ Lillmåns demonstrated an impressive lung capacity, screaming and growling throughout the set. Although Finntroll are known for occasionally drinking too much before going on stage, it didn’t happen in Edmonton. Vreth didn’t hesitate to get down and scream right into the faces of those in the front row,  and touring keyboardist Aleksi Virta could be seen grinning throughout the show, which seemed a little uncharacteristic for a band with darker music, but it suggested that he was enjoying the show as much as the fans. As the end of the set approached, Lillmåns announced that there would be no encore due to the drummer being ill, but the ensuing antics of Maktens Spira made up for it. Drunken members of Rotten Sound ran out on stage, complete with oversized, glittery top hats, huge novelty sunglasses, and various funny masks; joining in on some of the vocals and making their own party on stage. Members of the other bands apparently found it as hilarious as I did, as Petri Lindroos could be seen laughing and snapping pictures from the side of the stage. Members of Turisas were apparently in the crowd as well, having played earlier in the night in Edmonton. Finntroll, and every other band on this tour, certainly didn’t disappoint and my only regret is that I was only able to catch one show. Overall, the show was excellent.