Kalmah – 12 Gauge
Spinefarm Records

Rating:

Written by Niek of Deathmetalbaboon.com

Fins are crazy people! For one, they are the most death-searching rally drivers (look up the video of Ari Vatanen on Pikes Peak!) on this chunk of earth. For two, about 95 percent of the population digs metal. And for three, around 94 percent of ‘em is active in a metal band. That’s crazy in the good way and you won’t hear me complaining! Kalmah is one of Finland’s great melodeath bands and some crazy Fin came up with the term “Swamp Metal” for their stuff. Always looking to be different those Fins.

The band has been active for just over ten years now and in that time they turned out a good six full-length albums. That’s an excellent rate if you ask me. Their last one, 12 Gauge, got out earlier this year. So, what have we got?

The short answer is: a pretty decent album. Traditionally, what you get with Kalmah are a thrashy guitar feel (their previous album was an exception in this respect), a bunch of neo-classical key work, alternating or battling guitar-keyboard solos and some of the best composed acoustic tracks you can possibly imagine. The bad news is that that last thing will have to be missed on 12 Gauge. There is some acoustic stuff, but it’s all short and all part of more. The good news is that you do get the other stuff again.

And especially those keyboard vs. guitar solos are worth the decrease in hearing capacity you’ll end up with when you play this. And your hearing capacity will drop, because you’ll be cranking up the volume. Luckily Kalmah has been smart enough not to stuff every track with such a solo section. For one, it would take the sting out of it and secondly it’s better for our ears!

Kalmah’s 12 Gauge is definitely recommended to those that have enjoyed Kalmah’s The Black Waltz (2006), the album before the last one. It is also definitely worth the try for everyone else with a taste for quality melodic Death Metal. (And be sure to check out all their previous work as well!)

Dark Tranquillity – We Are the Void
Century Media

Rating:

Written by Niek of Deathmetalbaboon.com

We Are the Void is already the ninth album of these fathers of Swedish melodeath, a.k.a. the Gothenburn style. Their previous one was Fiction and was released in 2007. We Are the Void has been baptized to be the second part of a duology in which Fiction was part 1. And what do you get with sequels?

Yep, more of the same, usually not as well performed either (Terminator 2 being the exception). Thus, if you liked Fiction, don’t buy this one and keep your memories pure. If you’re a diehard Dark Tranquillity fan, then you surely will buy this album. The key then is to employ it for the right moods. This is no stuff for when you’re in the good mood, because it’ll slow you down. Instead, play this when your cat just got mangled by an SUV or something.

The piano parts on this album don’t add much in terms of emotion. It’s all very flat and simplistic, as if it were a rhythm guitar. Waste of a good piano, because a whole lot could have been achieved with it on this album. The music lends itself well for that.

Still, there are a few enjoyable tracks on the record. Tune in to Dream Oblivion, Iridium and Star of Nothingness and you’ll have the best songs of the album in your ears. The rest is pretty much void.

My favorite tracks: Dream Oblivion and Iridium.

Arsis – We Are the Nightmare
Nuclear Blast Records

(3.5/5)

If you are looking for another influential Death metal album coming from the East Coast, you better get your hands on a copy of Arsis’ newest release entitled We Are the Nightmare! With the skills of lead vocalist/guitarist James Malone, guitarist Ryan Knight, bassist Noah Martin, and sick drum master Darren Cesca all combined, We Are the Nightmare certainly scores high on the list of brutal Melodic Death metal albums I have heard as of late. There are quite a few tracks on the album that prove this over and over again, but there are a few specific tracks I would recommend over the others. These tracks include the likes of “Progressive Entrapment” (Track 7), “A Feast for the Liar’s Tongue” (Track 8), and the title track “We Are the Nightmare” (Track 1). Whilst these tracks are not ALL of the best, these are the ones I enjoy the most. “We Are the Nightmare” serves as a great intro to the album and starts off with its own great intro that builds beautifully into the song. When the song does hit, you know it! As far as “Progressive Entrapment” and “A Feast for the Liar’s Tongue” go, these two tracks are just heavy. Hands down. There’s no arguing that they show great variance and great examples of the more Death metal side of Melodic Death metal. Overall, this is a great album that I would suggest to any Death metal or Melodic Death metal fan, so if you fit into one of those categories, go out and grab a copy of We Are the Nightmare!

Scar Symmetry – Holographic Universe
Nuclear Blast Records

(4/5)

Scar Symmetry can be called a band of many talents, and their newest full length release entitled Holographic Universe helps defend that statement. Whether you want to call this album a Metalcore album, a Melodic Death metal album, or a Progressive Death metal album, everyone should realize that Scar Symmetry has some major skills! Between Christian Älvestam’s beautiful clean vocals and brutal death growls and the sick guitar skills between guitarists Jonas Kjellgren and Per Nilsson, the melodic aspects of this album are absolutely spot on. However awesome these three guys are, the overall heaviness and pure musical sound would not be complete without the help of bassist Kenneth Seil and drummer Henrik Ohlsson (who also writes lyrics for the band). Putting all these skills together have made a difficult decision as far as picking favorite songs, but the one I would most recommend is the title track “Holographic Universe” (Track 10). This track happens to be the longest track on the album at a time of 9:05 and I think it truly shows the wide range of talent these five guys posess. It takes you through futuristic synth effects, Meshuggah style heavy guitar and duble bass, and some massively brutal Metal. One cool aspect Scar Symmetry implements into the track is the Progressive sound just before battering you with heaviness and blistering guitar solos once again. Overall, this is a great track to catch a fairly large sized glimpse of Scar Symmetry’s true power. Other than “Holographic Universe”, I recommend listening to “Artificial Sun Projection” (Track 4), “Fear Catalyst” (Track 7), and “Prism And Gate” (Track 9). All of the tracks have their unique greatnesses, but these are a few of my favorite songs. All in all, I say Holographic Universe is definitely an album to add to your metal arsenal. The overall product is one that you will be listening to nonstop until the next album comes out!

Epicurean – A Consequence of Design
Metal Blade Records

(4/5)

With this re-release of 2006′s A Consequence of Design, Epicurean is hitting the Metal scene hard with this Melodic Death metal masterpiece! Although the regular screamed vocals by John Laramy are not all exactly my favorite, the clean vocals sound incredible and his sound definitely fits in with the rest of the band’s sound. As for the rest of the band, everybody sounds great on the album and there are obvious influences from bands like Opeth and some more Symphonic sounding bands like Epica. Overall, I really like what Epicurean has put together as far as sound and overall quality. As far as favorite songs go, I can’t really choose any for the mere fact that they all have something I really like about them. One thing I really like is the fact that there is another newer band out there writing songs over 5 and 6 minutes long. That always helps for a good change of pace when stuck in the monotony of 3 to 4 minute songs. If I had to mention a couple of songs to definitely check out, I’d have to say “Of Malice and Majesty”, “Anathema: The Gate Keeper”, and “To Cast the Mourning Shadow”. These three songs come later in the album, but they all show different styles and influences the band put into the music. As an overall album, I definitely love this album and recommend it to any Melodic Death metal fan!