Kalmah

Finland's Kalmah crafts an intensely rapid style of European death metal infused with classical elements, drawing parallels to the extreme approaches heard from groups such as Cradle of Filth and Children of Bodom. The five-piece ensemble came together during autumn 1999 after its prior project, Ancestor, had dissolved. Within under twelve months of that formation, Spikefarm Records—a Spinefarm subsidiary—offered the band a contract. During autumn 2000 the group laid down its first full-length effort at Tico-Tico studios, a facility long favored by compatriots Sentenced and Amorphis. Titled Swamplord, the resulting album delivers an aggressive death-metal sound built around dual guitars and frequently enriched by atmospheric keyboards. Century Media Records later secured North American rights, issuing the disc in 2001. They Will Return, the follow-up album, reached American listeners only after an additional twelve months had elapsed.