This album, without a shadow of a doubt, (at least from my side) is Kalmah's best album. This was their first full length album, and by far their best. This does not mean, however, that their other albums were bad, that's far from the truth. Every Kalmah album was good/great in its own special way. But this particular album stands out. Kalmah's next full length release, 'They Will Return' (2002) had too much keyboard melodies for my taste, and 'Swampsong' (2003) had too many Children Of Bodom influences. 'The Black Waltz' (2006) was a change, Kalmah had sacrificed much of their melody but still retained the blissful atmosphere of their previous three records, and their latest album, 'For the Revolution' (2008) had bits and pieces of each of their full lengths thrown together. But this review isn't about the albums that Kalmah released after 'Swamplord'. It's about how 'Swamplord' is superior to them.

What makes 'Swamplord' better than Kalmah's next four albums? I think the main reason would be that Kalmah were at their creative peak when they started recording this album. Born from the ashes of Ancestor, Kalmah decided to pursue a style of music different from that of Ancestor. Kalmah was more melodic and more atmospheric, and they didn't sacrifice the aggression of the music. People write Kalmah off as a Bodom rip off, but while there are similarities, Kalmah is of a totally different breed. The solos, riffs, drumming and the overall composition of their music in 'Swamplord' is far better not only compared to the albums Kalmah would later release, but also when compared to their Finnish counterparts, namely Children of Bodom and Norther.

As I said before, Kalmah are at their creative peak in this album. Listen to the brilliant intro of 'Hades', the dueling guitar work in 'Evil in You', and the haunting melodies of 'Alteration'. The three examples that I stated are only three of many examples. In a way, 'Swamplord' is comparable to Dark Tranquillity's 'The Gallery' (1995), because of the endless guitar dueling. But unlike 'The Gallery', 'Swamplord's guitar work never grows old, the melodies penetrate your brain and never leave, whereas 'The Gallery' would get boring at times. As one of the other reviewers of this album stated, the guitar work only adds to the unique atmosphere of this album, instead of taking away from it. This is a problem that plagued Kalmah in their next album, 'They Will Return'. On 'They Will Return', Kalmah seemed to run out of ideas, and often the keyboards would take command. Remember when I said that Kalmah are at their creative peak in this album? Listen to 'They Will Return' and compare it to 'Swamplord'. Even though Swamplord can be slightly predictable at times compared to 'They Will Return', it is still a lot more fresh and isn't dominated by the sometimes irritating keyboards.

Speaking of being fresh, nothing on 'Swamplord' ever grows old. Everything from the drumming to the vocals never grow old. Even though the vocals don't alternate between low grunts and high screams as much as they would do in 'For the Revolution', there is something about this album that makes you ignore that fact. Maybe it is because of the amazing atmosphere and addictive melodies of this album which I have already emphasized more than a few times in this review. This album, while not achieving perfection, is still the best of its kind. This is the closest Kalmah would come to perfection.

Rating: 9.7 (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by MegaHassan
11/21/2008 00:07