Album Review: "for the Revolution" by Finnish Melodic Death Metal Band Kalmah

Finnish melodic death metal band Kalmah returned after their 2006 album The Black Waltz to create yet another heavy, melodic, and outstanding album called "For The Revolution." And that is also the name of the first song in the album. This album review is going to be a song by song review and enjoy the journey through this amazing release! The band that started their career under the name of Ancestor back in 1992 entered their 16th year of existence showing that they still have the talent to beat many Finnish bands!

1. For the Revolution (song)

The song has a definite kind of political message to it and it is about rising up against a leader who may have had good intentions while they were campaigning for public office but they have become a sort of despised figure among the public who now want to take up arms and fight against him even of the end result of this political revolution ends up in death. The people of his country think that he has come to power to divide and conquer them. The public will figure out what kind of mistake they have made. The overall score for this song would be 80 out of 100 points.

2. Dead Man’s Shadow-This song features some Dark Tranquillity style guitar play in the beginning. The song is about someone that has to deal with the ghost of a dead person that is haunting him. He wants to escape from the things that he has done because he has also has a scar on his shoulder blade which is making him very angry. Score: 80 out of 100 points.

3. Holy Symphony of War-This may be my favorite song in this album because of the incredible guitar riffing in the song! The song is about the fact that we are in a very violent world and the PlayStation controls the lives of children to the point where it becomes an addiction. Video games can be addictive if you are not careful. There is also a general bias against poorer people which the band brings up. Score: 100 out of 100 points.

4. Wings of Blackening-This is a song that is very critical of those leaders we call dictators. The only way to true salvation is to have faith in GOD for HE is the one that knows the best way for us. Score: 85 out of 100 points.

5. Ready for Salvation-This song starts out with guitar that majestic and amazing before going into an awesome mid-tempo based death metal song. The song is about having the will to sacrifice or time and effort to help children around the world that are suffering because they have been deprived of their dreams. But it seems that their pleas for help have fallen on deaf ears as the world has ignored them. Score: 100 out of 100 points. This song should be on a Top 10 list of best Kalmah songs ever along with Dance of the Water and Principle Hero.

6. Towards the Sky-This song is about seeking the guidance and direction of GOD when the world is covered in darkness. He sends a prayer wish because he wants GOD to help heal his lover. Without the light of GOD which is designed to provide love and peace, he knows that she will die. He thinks that GOD is too busy to care about him. But eventually as any Christian knows GOD answers our prayers at the time of his choosing. Score: 80 out of 100 points.

7. Outremer-This song has a big symphonic feel to it because of the heavy keyboard influence. This is a pretty fast song and the heavy, rough vocals are still there. Score: 80 out of 100 points.

8. Coward-This is a song about a person that is ashamed to have been born into this Earth. He feels that he has let down his father and has not been the person that his father has expected him to be. He goes through life acting like a coward or drunkard. I really like how Kalmah covers these deep, philosophical subjects because they can encourage us to be better human beings. Score 85 out of 100 points.

9. Like a Slave-This last song in the album describes the kind of life that a slave is expected to lead. They are expected to obey their masters and to do the kind of work that they are expected to do. Behind closed doors, they know that their master is watching them very closely as they are really worth nothing. There is an endgame that results with slaves not being considered human. Slavery is a form of forced labor which the United States abolished thankfully. Score: 90 out of 100 points.