Reviewing My Favorites: Kalmah - The Groan of Wind (Song)

Kalmah are a perfect example of a band that allows me to gladly tolerate nothing but harsh, gutteral vocals - their melodies and overall sound make more than up for it.

Let's take The Groan of Wind (off The Black Waltz from 2006).
The way the song starts, so energetic, melodic, almost hymn-like, is a perfect indication of how Kalmah manage to balance out their death vocals - sometimes. They can go significantly heavier, but they shine where they don't. It's an unfair thing to say, of course, because to all those that typically don't enjoy (Melodic) Death Metal because it's too fast, heavy, or un-melodic in their ears, the song's intro already won't do.
It's in comparison to their other songs - especially off Swampsong - where it becomes obvious that the typical Death Metal patterns are interlaced with just enough melody to offset the certain something that makes them nothing but aggressive. Case in point: the passage that starts at around 26 seconds into the song.

The keyboard dominates the musical mix at many points throughout The Groan of Wind, and where they don't the guitars pick up the slack by being tuned into the typical sound for a Metal hymn. To me, this turns down the harshness of the vocals by several degrees - even if it's just illusionary.

Two parts of the song stick out to me beyond this interesting interplay of heaviness and melody: the bridge and the song's outro.

As soon as The Groan of Wind breaks down, the bass takes over, slowing the whole thing down and carrying it into an unknown menace - at least for a few seconds. As short as this part is, it's wonderful and reminds me of a dark dungeon far below the surface, where something may be lurking just behind the next corner; the song's video doesn't exactly help with dispelling that imagination either.

The outro has the keyboard rear up and launch into a solo that's even shorter than the bridge, but it makes the difference just the same. There's simply too much energy contained within the song and it has to get out somehow, be it in one final burst that causes the whole song to shut down in the end - audibly.

If you choose to listen to the song, do yourself a favor and watch the video as well. It's a treat and matches the music perfectly in all its glorious blackness. The album is called The Black Waltz for a reason.
Plus, you wouldn't want to miss the band pulling those silly mad faces while performing underground.

You can watch the video on Youtube: Kalmah - The Groan of Wind (unfortunately, while it is the official video, it seems to be available only on third-party channels.)