The Black Waltz

Infobox Album |
Name = The Black Waltz
Type = studio
Artist = Kalmah


Released = February 22, 2006
Recorded = Nov 2005-2006 Tico-Tico studios, Kemi, Finland
Genre = Melodic death metal
Length = 47:24
Label = Spinefarm
Producer = Ahti Kortelainen
Reviews =
* PyroMusic (7.0/10) [http://www.pyromusic.net/index.php?p=reviews_review&review=Kalmah-The_Black_Waltz&id=797 link]
* The Metal Observer Rating-10|6 [http://www.metal-observer.com/articles.php?lid=1&sid=1&id=10497 link]
* Metal Storm (8.0/10) [http://www.metalstorm.ee/pub/review.php?review_id=1182 link]
* Metal Review [http://metalreview.com/2728/Kalmah-The-Black-Waltz.aspx link]
* Vampire Magazine [http://www.vampire-magazine.com/article.php?aid=41357 link]
Last album = "Swampsong"
(2003)
This album = "The Black Waltz"
(2006)
Next album = "For the Revolution"
(2008)

"The Black Waltz" [ [http://www.kalmah.com/discography.html Kalmah.com Discography] ] 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. The vocals have changed to lower death vocals, compared to their higher pitched growls used in previous albums.

The instrumental "Svieri Doroga" is a combination of the name of their first demo "Svieri Obraza" and a track on that demo entitled, "Vezi Doroga".

A video for the song "The Groan of Wind" [ [http://www.metalfromfinland.com/Kalmah/videos#77 Metal From Finland - The Groan of Wind] ] was shot, it featured the band members playing inside a cave, with alternating shots of a young boy being haunted by an old man (whose picture was on the cover of the album).

The album ranked in the top three Melo-Death/Gothenburg albums of 2006 and at number 9 on the Top 20 albums of the same year on [http://www.metalstorm.ee/bands/album.php?album_id=3333&band_id=135&bandname=Kalmah Metal Storm] . The album peaked at number 48 on the national Finnish album charts. [ [http://www.rockdetector.com/officialbio,21241.sm Rockdetector Kalmah Detailed Biography] ]

Track listing

# "Defeat" – 5:32
# "Bitter Metallic Side" – 4:27
# "Time Takes Us All" – 4:22
# "To the Gallows" – 4:40
# "Svieri Doroga" – 1:08
# "The Black Waltz" – 4:37
# "With Terminal Intensity" – 4:56
# "Man of the King" – 4:02
# "The Groan of Wind" – 5:02
# "Mindrust" – 4:06
# "One from the Stands" – 4:32
# "This Mortal Coil" (Japan Bonus Track)

Credits

Band members

* Antti Kokko − guitar
* Pekka Kokko − guitar, vocals
* Timo Lehtinen − bass
* Marco Sneck − keyboard
* Janne Kusmin − drums

Production and other

* All guitar solos performed by Antti Kokko.
* Choirs on "Defeat" and "To The Gallows" performed by The Official Kalmah Pig Unit.
* Recorded and mixed at Tico-Tico studios in November 2005 by Ahti Kortelainen.
* Mastered at Finnvox studios in December 2005 by Mika Jussila.
* All music arranged and produced by Kalmah.
* Cover artwork, layout and photography by Vesa Ranta.

External links

* [http://kalmah.com Kalmah official site]
* [http://www.metalfromfinland.com/Kalmah/albums#232 The Black Waltz @ MetalfromFinland site]

References