Kalmah
Encyclopedia
Kalmah is a melodic death metal
band from Oulu
, Finland
that formed in 1998. In less than a year after its formation, Kalmah was signed by Spinefarm Records
. The word "kalmah" is Karelian
and could be translated as "to the grave" or "to the death."
, Antti Kokko on lead guitar
, Pasi Hiltula on keyboards
, Altti Veteläinen on bass
, and Petri Sankala on drums
.
Kalmah began to write songs for a promotional CD entitled Svieri Obraza. With this demo, they acquired a recording contract with Spinefarm Records
and headed to Tico-Tico Studios to record their debut album, Swamplord
.
By November 2001, they returned to Tico-Tico Studios to record their second studio album, They Will Return
. By this time, Veteläinen and Sankala were replaced by Timo Lehtinen on bass and Janne Kusmin on drums, respectively. In 2002, Kalmah played shows in Finland and at Wacken Open Air
. In February 2003, they recorded their third studio album, Swampsong
. In 2004, keyboardist Pasi Hiltula left and was replaced by Marco Sneck. The band released The Black Waltz
in 2006 and For the Revolution
in 2008. Kalmah toured in Canada and Finland to promote the latter album.
on February 24, 2010, Canada
on March 2, Europe
on March 3, and North America
on April 6.
Recording and mixing took place from May to August at Tico-Tico Studios in Finland, and mastering for the disc took place at the Cutting Room in Sweden.
The track Bullets Are Blind was released in December 2009 on a 2-CD collection included with the 35th anniversary issue of Soundi magazine.
In March 2010, 12 Gauge became the first Kalmah album to be released on vinyl. The album was mastered for vinyl by Joona Lukala, Noise for Fiction, and released by Svart Records in a limited run of 500 copies.
Demos and EPs
Videos
Former members
Melodic death metal
Melodic death metal is a heavy metal music style that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with elements of death metal. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England and Scandinavia...
band from Oulu
Oulu
Oulu is a city and municipality of inhabitants in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. It is the most populous city in Northern Finland and the sixth most populous city in the country. It is one of the northernmost larger cities in the world....
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
that formed in 1998. In less than a year after its formation, Kalmah was signed by Spinefarm Records
Spinefarm Records
Spinefarm Records is a Finland-based record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. In 1999, a sub-label titled Spikefarm Records was started by Sami Tenetz from Thy Serpent...
. The word "kalmah" is Karelian
Karelian language
Karelian language is a Finnic language spoken mainly in the Russian Republic of Karelia. Linguistically Karelian is closely related to the Finnish dialects spoken in eastern Finland and some Finnish linguists even classified Karelian as a dialect of Finnish...
and could be translated as "to the grave" or "to the death."
History
In 1991, Pekka Kokko and Petri Sankala founded the metal band Ancestor. After Ancestor had recorded two demos, Antti Kokko joined the band as lead guitarist. In 1998, after five demos, Ancestor disbanded. Later in the same year, Kalmah formed. The new band consisted of Pekka Kokko performing vocals and guitarElectric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, Antti Kokko on lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, Pasi Hiltula on keyboards
Electronic keyboard
An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
, Altti Veteläinen on bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, and Petri Sankala on drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
.
Kalmah began to write songs for a promotional CD entitled Svieri Obraza. With this demo, they acquired a recording contract with Spinefarm Records
Spinefarm Records
Spinefarm Records is a Finland-based record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. In 1999, a sub-label titled Spikefarm Records was started by Sami Tenetz from Thy Serpent...
and headed to Tico-Tico Studios to record their debut album, Swamplord
Swamplord
-Band members:* Antti Kokko − guitar* Pekka Kokko − guitar, vocals* Altti Veteläinen − bass* Pasi Hiltula − keyboard* Petri Sankala − drums-Production:* Recorded and mixed at Tico-Tico Studios, Kemi, in September 2000.* Produced by Kalmah and Ahti Kortelainen...
.
By November 2001, they returned to Tico-Tico Studios to record their second studio album, They Will Return
They Will Return
-Personnel:* Pekka Kokko − Rhythm guitar and vocals* Antti Kokko − lead guitar* Timo Lehtinen − bass* Pasi Hiltula − keyboard* Janne Kusmin − drums...
. By this time, Veteläinen and Sankala were replaced by Timo Lehtinen on bass and Janne Kusmin on drums, respectively. In 2002, Kalmah played shows in Finland and at Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...
. In February 2003, they recorded their third studio album, Swampsong
Swampsong
-Band members:* Pekka Kokko − guitar, vocals* Antti Kokko − guitar* Pasi Hiltula − keyboard* Timo Lehtinen − bass* Janne Kusmin − drums-Production:* Recorded by Ahti Kortelainen at Tico-Tico Studios, Kemi in February 2003....
. In 2004, keyboardist Pasi Hiltula left and was replaced by Marco Sneck. The band released The Black Waltz
The Black Waltz
The Black Waltz is the fourth full-length studio album by the Finnish melodic death metal band Kalmah and their first with keyboard player Marco Sneck. This CD finds them gravitating more towards thrash, which have often been cited as the Kokko brothers' primary musical influence...
in 2006 and For the Revolution
For the Revolution
For the Revolution is the fifth full-length studio album by the Finnish melodic death metal band Kalmah. The album reached #17 on the Finnish national album chart.-Track listing:...
in 2008. Kalmah toured in Canada and Finland to promote the latter album.
12 Gauge
Kalmah's sixth studio album was released in JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on February 24, 2010, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on March 2, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
on March 3, and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on April 6.
Recording and mixing took place from May to August at Tico-Tico Studios in Finland, and mastering for the disc took place at the Cutting Room in Sweden.
The track Bullets Are Blind was released in December 2009 on a 2-CD collection included with the 35th anniversary issue of Soundi magazine.
In March 2010, 12 Gauge became the first Kalmah album to be released on vinyl. The album was mastered for vinyl by Joona Lukala, Noise for Fiction, and released by Svart Records in a limited run of 500 copies.
Discography
Studio albums- SwamplordSwamplord-Band members:* Antti Kokko − guitar* Pekka Kokko − guitar, vocals* Altti Veteläinen − bass* Pasi Hiltula − keyboard* Petri Sankala − drums-Production:* Recorded and mixed at Tico-Tico Studios, Kemi, in September 2000.* Produced by Kalmah and Ahti Kortelainen...
(2000) - They Will ReturnThey Will Return-Personnel:* Pekka Kokko − Rhythm guitar and vocals* Antti Kokko − lead guitar* Timo Lehtinen − bass* Pasi Hiltula − keyboard* Janne Kusmin − drums...
(2002) - SwampsongSwampsong-Band members:* Pekka Kokko − guitar, vocals* Antti Kokko − guitar* Pasi Hiltula − keyboard* Timo Lehtinen − bass* Janne Kusmin − drums-Production:* Recorded by Ahti Kortelainen at Tico-Tico Studios, Kemi in February 2003....
(2003) - The Black WaltzThe Black WaltzThe Black Waltz is the fourth full-length studio album by the Finnish melodic death metal band Kalmah and their first with keyboard player Marco Sneck. This CD finds them gravitating more towards thrash, which have often been cited as the Kokko brothers' primary musical influence...
(2006) - For the RevolutionFor the RevolutionFor the Revolution is the fifth full-length studio album by the Finnish melodic death metal band Kalmah. The album reached #17 on the Finnish national album chart.-Track listing:...
(2008) - 12 Gauge (2010)
Demos and EPs
- As Ancestor
- Ethereal Devotion (1992)
- Material World God (1993)
- With No Strings Attached (1996)
- Tomorrow (1997)
- Under the Burbot's Nest (1998)
- As Kalmah
- Svieri Obraza (1999) − promo
- Demo 2004 (2004) − unreleased
Videos
- Withering Away (2000)
- The Groan of Wind (2006)
- 12 Gauge studio diary in seven parts (2009)
- 12 Gauge (2010) (music video)
Band members
Current members- Pekka Kokko – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
(1998–present) - Antti Kokko – lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
(1998–present) - Timo Lehtinen – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(2001–present) - Janne Kusmin – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(2001–present)
Former members
- Altti Veteläinen – bass guitar (1998–2001)
- Antti-Matti Talala – keyboards (1999)
- Pasi Hiltula – keyboards (1999–2004)
- Marco Sneck - keyboards (2004-2011)
- Petri Sankala – drums (1998–2001)