The Black Waltz

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The Black Waltz
Kansi bw.gif
Studio album by
Released22 February 2006 [1]
RecordedNovember 2005
StudioTico-Tico studios (Kemi, Finland)
Genre Melodic death metal, thrash metal
Length47:24
Label Spinefarm
Producer Kalmah
Kalmah chronology
Swampsong
(2003)
The Black Waltz
(2006)
For the Revolution
(2008)

The Black Waltz [2] is the fourth full-length studio album by the Finnish melodic death metal band Kalmah and their first with keyboard player Marco Sneck. [3] This album has them gravitating more towards thrash metal, which has often been cited as the Kokko brothers' primary musical influence. The vocals have changed to lower death vocals, compared to their higher pitched growls in previous albums.

Contents

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". The name of the title track and album comes from a song originally recorded ten years earlier when the band was still named "Ancestor".

The video for "The Groan of Wind" [4] shows the band members playing inside a cave, with alternating shots of a young boy and girl running from their possessed family members. They are later rescued by a disfigured old man, the Swamplord (Odin), whose picture is on the cover of the album.

The album ranked in the top three melodic death metal/Gothenburg albums in 2006. The album peaked at number 48 on the national Finnish album charts. [5]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Metal Storm Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Rock Hard Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Metal.de Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Pekka Kokko, except track 10 (P. Kokko and A. Kokko)

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Defeat"A. Kokko, P. Kokko5:32
2."Bitter Metallic Side"A. Kokko4:27
3."Time Takes Us All"M. Sneck4:22
4."To the Gallows"P. Kokko4:40
5."Svieri Doroga"A. Kokko1:08
6."The Black Waltz"A. Kokko4:37
7."With Terminal Intensity"M. Sneck4:56
8."Man of the King"A. Kokko, P.Kokko, Lehtinen4:02
9."The Groan of Wind"A. Kokko, P. Kokko5:02
10."Mindrust"M. Sneck4:06
11."One from the Stands"A. Kokko, P. Kokko4:32
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."This Mortal Coil" (Carcass cover)3:36

Credits

Band members

Production and other

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References

  1. KALMAH: New Album Samples Posted Online, blabbermouth.net, retrieved 27 December 2017
  2. Kalmah.com Discography Archived 2008-10-14 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "KALMAH Announce New Keyboardist". Blabbermouth . 17 May 2004. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  4. Metal From Finland - The Groan of Wind
  5. MusicMight Kalmah Detailed Biography
  6. "Kalmah - The Black Waltz review". Metal Storm . 1 March 2006. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  7. Albrecht, Frank. "KALMAH - The Black Waltz". Rock Hard . Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  8. "Kalmah - The Black Waltz Review". Metal.de . 11 April 2006. Retrieved 1 December 2022.