Swamplord
Swamplord[1] is the debut studio album by the Finnish melodic death metal band Kalmah.
| Swamplord | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 2000 | |||
| Recorded | September 2000, Tico-Tico Studios, Kemi, Finland | |||
| Genre | Melodic death metal, power metal | |||
| Length | 36:12 | |||
| Label | Spinefarm Century Media | |||
| Producer | Ahti Kortelainen Kalmah | |||
| Kalmah chronology | ||||
| ||||
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| BW&BK | [3] |
| Metal.de | [4] |
| MetalCrypt |  [5] |
Reception of Swamplord was fairly positive. Andy Hinds of AllMusic praised the album and in particular, the keyboards on the album, stating they "heighten the drama, while adding texture to the quintet's crushing twin-guitar foundation."[2] He also compared the vocals to that of At the Gates and Emperor. Mark Gromen for Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles called the tracks on the album "Rapidly played hymns of blasphemy, with a high level of musicianship."[3] Kevin Stewart-Panko of Exclaim! stated that "The classical influenced runs and keyboard swells are a nice touch as are the band's experiments with dissonance vs. consonance in 'Heritance of Berija.'" He also said that while the band isn't entirely original, "they do have their moments and provide a decent enough listen."[6]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Evil in You" | 5:08 |
| 2. | "Withering Away" | 3:34 |
| 3. | "Heritance of Berija" | 4:30 |
| 4. | "Black Roija" | 4:15 |
| 5. | "Dance of the Water" | 4:31 |
| 6. | "Hades" | 4:25 |
| 7. | "Alteration" | 4:42 |
| 8. | "Using the Word" | 5:07 |
| 9. | "The Blind Leader (Demo)" (Japanese edition bonus track) | 3:12 |
| 10. | "Vezidoroga" (Japanese edition bonus track) | 3:49 |
Credits
Band members
- Antti Kokko − guitar
- Pekka Kokko − guitar, vocals
- Altti Veteläinen − bass
- Pasi Hiltula − keyboards
- Petri Sankala − drums
Production
- Recorded and mixed at Tico-Tico Studios, Kemi, in September 2000
- Produced by Kalmah and Ahti Kortelainen
- Mastered at Finnvox Studios by Mika Jussila
References
- Kalmah.com Discography Archived 14 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- Allmusic review
- Gromen, Mark (3 December 2000). "KALMAH – Swamplord". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- "Kalmah – Swamplord Review". Metal.de. 3 March 2001. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- Renner, Christian (11 September 2001). "Review of Kalmah – Swamplord". The Metal Crypt. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- Stewart-Panko, Kevin (1 May 2001). "Kalmah Swamplord". Exclaim!. Retrieved 1 December 2022.