If you’ve heard the band Kalmankantaja, you certainly already know the quality of Black Metal performed by these Finns; but if you haven’t been introduced to these insane so far, “Routamaa” is the perfect album to enter the vast discography they have, being the perfect balance between the past and the future of the band bringing all the melancholy and sadness of the early days combined with the melodic guitars and atmospheric soundscape of the present day. And when I tell you vast discography I’m not kidding because I think I’ve rarely seen a band as productive and with such creative energy as this horde.. with only eleven years on the road Kalmankantaja has already released twenty one (!!!! ) full albums and countless other Eps, demos and split albums; the creative ability of the guys is so absurd that in 2014 and 2020 they respectively released four albums each year. All this thanks to the restless mind of Grim666 who composes all the instrumental parts leaving the voices in charge of the talents of the mysterious Tyrant. “Routamaa” is the band’s eleventh album and was originally released in 2017 and as I mentioned it is the perfect link that unites the most distant past and the current moment that the band lives.
After a short intro “Pimeyteen” explodes through the speakers with its mid-tempo sound and which, due to some similarities, will please fans of the also Finnish Thy Serpent. This composition is one of my favorites and is perfect as the opening track being the most atmospheric of the entire album. Following the track “Ikijää” knocks us to the ground with its more depressing ambience. There’s some weirder element to the main riff of this track that I couldn’t identify for sure but that makes your listening, in a way, quite disturbing. Listen to it and you will understand what I am saying. The fast and epic “Kylmä ikuinen” follows with its beautiful riffs and melodies. For some reason this song sounded to me like a crazy mix of Windir and Burzum and that worked very well being this composition one of the great highlights of “Routamaa”. But if this track puts you up there, once again you’re drawn into the depths with the bleak atmosphere of “Veren vanki” with its beautiful bass lines, sullen drums and perfect ending. We continue our journey with “Varjon ja tulen jumala” with its faster parts contrasting with its slower and extremely melodic moments and “Sokean polku” which is the slowest track of all with its sound that, in a way, refers to the first albums. from Katatonia with its guitar and bass lines bringing beautiful melancholy melodies and Tyrant’s desperate vocals and closes “Routamaa” perfectly leaving us with a bitter taste of agony in the air…
The brilliant cover art made by JDW with his choice of cold color tones managed to visually translate perfectly all the mix of feelings that this album carries with it and the musical production knew how to make the sound of the instruments well defined with a light emphasis very interesting on the bass that sounds extremely heavy and makes listening to “Routamaa” very pleasant. An excellent material from a band with colossal musicianship and an even more monumental discography that deserves your attention. Since I don’t waste my time reviewing crap, of course I highly recommend this album and if you’ve read this review up to this point, if you understand the standards of my recommendations, you’ll definitely try to get to know this band and buy this work.
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