Kalmo
- Gehinnom
Finland
Sliptrick
Records
Kalmo is a Finnish one-man project playing a kind of Black/Doom with a very distinct Finnish vernacular, especially with the vocals, which are thick and expressive. Neither a growl, nor a clean vocal. The music overall has a pretty dark feel to it, and the songs are mostly slow as the riffs create patterns that do not really pick up speed and mostly stay the same the whole time. The vocals definitely take some getting used to, and I think if the vocals were more aggressive, or if they were actual tortured screams, the project would have sounded 10 times more interesting. However, one should not disregard the fact that the band is still in its development phase. And I can even find some enjoyable elements in their sound, especially with the riffing style, which I think if the band continues to develop, they can really come up with a strong effort and sound of their own. The total length of this album clocks in at 27 minutes. If you have the patience to sit through such a length and endure such a slow style of Blackened Doom music, then you should definitely give it a listen. Not bad, but I think the band has the potential to improve. (HT)