Review Summary: A fast paced melodic masterpiece that is a must have for all fans of the genre
They Will Return (2002) is the second studio release by the Finnish Death Metal band
Kalmah and is considered by many of their fans, including myself, to be their best release to date. The album was recorded at Tico- Tico studios in November 2001 by Ahti Kortelainen.
The line-up
Timo Lehtinen - Bass
Pasi Hiltula - Keyboards
Antti Kokko - Lead Guitar
Janne Kusmin - Drums
Pekka Kokko Vocals, Guitar (All Lyrics)
Kalmah are known for many things; amazing musicianship, aggressive and powerful vocals, and even the occasional well placed beautiful instrumentation. Unfortunately, they are also known for supposedly mimicking another popular melodeath band,
Children Of Bodom. To clear this up, I personally think that Kalmah are much more diverse than CoB because Kalmah use clean guitar and ambient background keyboards much more which helps to give there songs more depth and emotion. Although Kalmah do have a similar band set-up and style of playing, so do many of the other bands within the genre.
The album features very fast melodic guitars and keyboards with very suitable blast beat drumming to mold with the aggression Kalmah create. The Kokko brother’s consistently create catchy, evil, and dark melodies, and Pasi maintains these melodies very nicely with an extremely unique keyboard tone that fits the imagery and swamp concept so well. The transitions that Pasi makes between leads and background chords are beautiful and ambient, and are noticeable in most of the songs on the record. The clean sections, although rare, are notably some of my favorite parts of the albums. I love it when death metal bands know when to use a clean guitar and piano to add to the music, it adds so much more to the value and accessibility, and it favors Kalmah very well with this album in particular.
If there’s one thing that I wish would feature more change with the album, it would be the vocals. Although there are very good for the genre, the weakness is in the fact that there’s few changes. I will credit Pekka for his vocals in the song "My Nation" because his voice in the song during the verse is very haunting and noticeably different than everything else vocally on the album.
Now to get to the individual songs...
Hollow Heart - This is the opening track and after the "swamp walk" intro it lets the listener really here the signature sounds of Kalmah; beautiful guitar and keyboard harmony lines, and then fast and aggressive (yet still epic) verse and chorus's. This song has an excellent keyboard/guitar duel that ends with the Pasi and Antti doing a synchronized melody that is extremely epic and has really good beats behind it produced by the very talented Janne Kusmin. This song is a great opener because its epic, fast, and features really catchy solo work. It more importantly sets the overall "swampy" vibe they so much enjoy to create. Its also worth mentioning that if you actually read the lyrics, you might be surprised to find that they are actually very well done. Kalmah seem to take their music really seriously for the most part with their deep lyrical concept. My interpretation is that this particular song is about losing the will to live. Overall, it’s a great opener
4.5/5
Swampshell - A creepy sounding melodic progression starts of the song with once again the classic synchronized playing of Pasi and Antti while drumming comes in hitting the well placed symbol crashes to open before going into an ear pleasing blast beat pattern that Kusmin will maintain for most of the song. Timo shines at the minute mark to do some brief yet catchy bass fill work while the band takes a break before the first solo of the song ruptures in with some bends and nice pentatonic work. I really enjoyed the chorus of this song because it featured the rest of the band doing some backing vocal work that adds to the song quite a bit to give it that epic feel. Then my favorite part to the song comes in at 2:48 where it everyone fades out briefly except keyboardist Pasi and he changes the tone to a very ambient keyboards that follow the melody well established already in the song, its a very nice break from all the aggression, but is still well transitioned and well placed. Following this nice little breakdown is the second and final solo at 3:21 which is very well written as it integrates the melodies of the song into it interestingly. Then once more with the catchy chorus and the song finishes with the Kokko brothers deep throating "Finally I meet my swamplord". This is a Great song that reminds me of the "Swamplord" days of Kalmah with the lyrical concepts and frantic yet precise keyboards. I do however wish there was a lengthier first guitar solo, it seemed rather too short, but that is only a very minor criticism
4/5
Kill The Idealist - This to me is not only the best track on the album but also Kalmah's best song to date. The intro is phenomenal; the nice clean guitar tone finally makes its presence heard on the album in amazing fashion with a simple yet flowing and effective riff that captivates an attentive listener. Guitar harmonics add to the intro's depth incredibly before distorted guitar power chords brings in the darkness of the song. A guitar lead comes in and picks everything up that progresses amazingly with the organ toned keyboards. The chorus vocals are fun to sing along with and are easily decipherable and the guitar melody is again very addictive. Right after the chorus we hear some nice solo piano/keyboard work with the rest of the band coming in quickly on the strong beats. This is then followed by some nice breakdown guitar melody before the albums best solo takes place at 2:42. The solo is fast and melodic with very nice points in it and is quite lengthy. Then after another chorus line its back to the intro riff but this time a very good distorted riff is played over that’s very catchy. Lyrically this song is very well written. The basic concept is that "to kill the idealist" is to kill independent thoughts and ideas in attempt to make everyone focus on work and feeding the system > "capital rules the world". Amazing song
5/5
Principle Hero - this song at first is very guitar driven with a pretty cool riff that picks up with a quick frantic guitar fill and then into an even faster riff and the harsh vocals enter. Then an unusual keyboard melody presents itself at :47 that is really kind of odd. My favorite part of the song is at 2:10 when there is the synth pad keyboard come in that add some atmosphere to the song which was much needed. One of the darkest riffs ive ever heard is played right after this that really caught my attention. The solo of this song is very fast and pretty entertaining. It finishes with the chorus "Principle Hero / Mindless Zero! " and then nice little guitar solo close. Not a standout, but a solid track
3.5
Human Fates - This is definitely a standout track. Pasi did an outstanding job with the keyboard work in this song; it is so dark, atmospheric, epic and medieval sounding i.e just what melodeath fans want with keyboards. This song also has a nice clean intro similar to that of "Kill The Idealist", but its more melodic in the sense that when distortion enters, it is a melody, not just powerchords. Timo's bass is also very audible which is definitely a good thing. Right before the chorus there are keyboard chords played that present a very eerie vibe that will most likely really catch your attention. Then at the 3 minute mark the guitars end on a heavy chord and fade out while Kusmin rides on the symbols before one of the coolest keyboard breakdowns I have ever heard is played with the organ tone. Sends chills down my spine when I hear that, it’s amazing. The song just gets better when Pasi does his keyboard solo which is not ridiculous in speed but regardless is a really cool melody that progresses up in octaves. The ending of the song is extremely dark but perfect for the song, as it ends with more organ from Pasi. Very good lyrical song to as it talks about the serious issue of Alcohol destroying peoples lives. Easily one of my favorite tracks off the album
5/5
They Will Return - The title track is solid for sure. A great riff that is more thrash than anything else on the album starts of the song before an opening solo that is one of the best on the album. The melodies of Kalmah return after this aswell as some background keyboard work. The vocals really fit this track well. Then the second solo comes in around 2:11 and it’s the most story like solo of the album. The end of the song is interesting because behind the vocals Pasi does some keyboard soloing and then a quick bass fill by Timo before the final chords of the song are played. Solid track
4/5
The Blind Leader - This song starts off with some pretty heavy riffing then as a fast melody is played on the guitar Pekka lets out his biggest growl of the album. The highlight of this song is the chorus which has a very nice riff played with a nice keyboard tone following the melody. The song has some really crazy drumming in it too that tops a lot of the other songs at least in that sense. The solo is lengthy and has quite a range. I felt this song needed more backing keyboards like in "Human Fates" though. Not a stand out track to me, but still good
3.5/5
My Nation - This is my second favorite track of the album, it is extremely well put together. An opening that stands out from the others starts of the song, but soon an unexpected fade out occurs and some very beautiful piano melodies are arranged along with Pekka's creepy whispering vocals, the beauty doesn’t last that long before its back to chaos with an onslaught of blast beats and guteral vocals accompanied by some fast guitar work. The song also features one of my favorite keyboard solos in it. Lyrically it talks about revolution and overthrowing those who are unjust. Superb song.
5/5
Skin O' My Teeth - I like to consider this a bonus track even though it isn’t because its really not that great. Its a good cover but personally I didn’t even like the original Skin O My Teeth in the first place. The solo is kind of cool but other than that, nothing special and its placement in the album makes it even worse. meh song
2.5/5
Overall this is an excellent album for those of you who enjoy fast, epic melodies and really interesting song breakdowns. Its a must have for fans of the genre and its well worth it to buy the actual CD because the artwork inside is amazing.
Recommended Tracks
Kill The Idealist
My Nation
Human Fates
Hollow Heart
Overall Rating
4.5/5
