Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
If any more proof were needed that the Metal scene in the lands that make up the large expanse of Scandinavia, a huge resounding piece of musical evidence makes its way via Spinefarm Records in the form of Finnish band Kalmah and their brand new album Seventh Swamphony.
Seventh Swamphony is the sensational follow up to the 2010 release 12 Gauge and from the kick-ass start; the music ascends above much of the current traditional output by the founders of the genre, with the very obvious exception of Black Sabbath’s 13 which will take some beating as the primary example of what acts from the U.K. can achieve. Like the storming of some ancient castle by the barbarian hordes of old, there is no quarter given, no edifice unturned, no escape from the relentless outpouring of musical mayhem by Pekka Kokko, Antti Kokko, Veli Matti Kananen, Janne Kusmin and Timo Lehtinen.
Like the hero of English literature Beowulf, the music on offer is epic, it regales and sweats blood as it pours like well made mead from the band to the listener. A set of songs that insists on making themselves known, even if they have to take you on in battle first, for swords and rampaging soldiers read heavy duty guitar solos and lyrics that ache with anticipation. For muddy fields and war torn dying read a studio in Finland that has captured the very heart of what tracks such as Deadfall, Pikemaster, the tantalizingly good Hollo and Windlake Tale offer the listener.
Above it all and exceeding any expectations the fan from the U.K. may have lies the beauty that such bands bring to the stage. The world is much larger, so much more diverse musically that it is easy to think sometimes that your own country alone can own a certain type of genre but as been proved many times this year alone, there is a whole planet that holds great temptation, a musical feast on which to gorge and revel in after the campaign is fought.
A fantastic album from a great Finnish band, it takes no prisoners as in the end they should all to succumb willingly.
Seventh Swamphony is released via Spinefarm records on June 17th
Ian D. Hall