Kalmah – Palo

Band: Kalmah
Album: Palo
Release Date: 6th April 2018

Headlining the Saturday at Warhorns Festival in Selby this year, and with the release of a new album, now is as good a time as any to get listening to Kalmah.

The album kicks off with Blood Ran Cold. There’s a great power metal style melody to kick us off, with harsh vocals and fast drums. There’s a hint of Amon Amarth style instrumentals in the bridge, and some folk melodies incorporated into the rest of the track. I’m definitely going to be headbanging a lot when I see Kalmah in September, I can tell!

There are several tracks on the album which follow this great headbanging theme, with catchy riffs and heavy drums. Tracks such as The Evil Kin, Into The Black Marsh, Waiting in the Winds, Through The Shallow Waters and Ease and Diverge are all under this umbrella. They’re all catchy as hell, along with the addition of keys for the symphonic elements. The World of Rage has a slightly calmer intro with piano, until you get blasted with drums, guitars, strings and growls.

Take Me Away is a lot calmer with a piano and pipes introduction, but the drums and guitar kick in, with the guitar following the folky melody of the flute. It is a calmer song compared to most of the album, and is a lot more melodic. It gives the listener a breather from all the hard hitting power in the rest of the album. The album finale is The Stalker, a lot more bare bone, with more atmosphere and tension, a fantastic track to end this hard hitting album.

Having not listened to Kalmah before, it is safe to say that I will be having a listen to their back catalogue heavily in preparation for Warhorns Festival in September this year. This is certainly a contender for my album of the year!

Verdict: 9/10

Kalmah: http://www.kalmah.com/
Buy Palo: https://spinefarm.lnk.to/Kalmah-Palo
Warhorns Festival 2018: https://www.facebook.com/events/1504041606304639/