In 1991, Pekka Kokko and Petri Sankala founded the metal band Ancestor. After Ancestor had recorded two demos, Antti Kokko joined the band as lead guitarist. In 1998, after five demos, Ancestor disbanded and Kalmah was formed. The new band consisted of Pekka Kokko performing vocals and guitar, Antti Kokko on lead guitar, Pasi Hiltula on keyboards, Altti Veteläinen on bass, and Petri Sankala on drums.
Kalmah began to write songs for a promotional CD entitled Svieri Obraza. With this demo, they acquired a recording contract with Spinefarm Records and headed to Tico-Tico Studios to record their debut album, Swamplord.
By November 2001, they returned to Tico-Tico Studios to record their second studio album, They Will Return. By this time, Veteläinen and Sankala were replaced by Timo Lehtinen on bass and Janne Kusmin on drums, respectively. In 2002, Kalmah played shows in Finland and at Wacken Open Air. In February 2003, they recorded their third studio album, Swampsong. In 2004, keyboardist Pasi Hiltula left and was replaced by Marco Sneck. The band released The Black Waltz in 2006 and For the Revolution in 2008. Kalmah toured in Canada and Finland to promote the latter album.
Kalmah's sixth studio album was released in Japan on 24 February 2010, Canada on 2 March, Europe on 3 March and North America on 6 April. Recording and mixing took place from May to August at Tico-Tico Studios in Finland, and mastering for the disc took place at the Cutting Room in Sweden. The track "Bullets Are Blind" was released in December 2009 on a 2-CD collection included with the 35th anniversary issue of Soundi magazine. In March 2010, 12 Gauge became the first Kalmah album to be released on vinyl. The album was mastered for vinyl by Joona Lukala, Noise for Fiction, and released by Svart Records in a limited run of 500 copies.
In 2012, Kalmah finished filming a new music video for their upcoming album, due to be released in 2013. The band have kept fans up to date with their process via social networking website Facebook by uploading different photos, as well as a short behind the scenes video from the day of filming their video. They also announced that they currently have 6 songs finished, and they plan to enter the studio in January 2013. The artwork for their seventh studio album will be created by artist Juha Vuorma, the man also behind the art of Kalmah's first 3 albums. In April 2013, it was announced that the band will release their seventh studio album, Seventh Swamphony, on 17 June.
Kalmah's eighth album, Palo, was released on April 6, 2018. A single from the album, "The Evil Kin" was released on February 9, 2018
The Black Waltz
Kalmah Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Leads away from the bless sheÂ's earned
Gone away the meaning
Before the day against the morning
Down the path of the blind souls she walks
Through the dreams of mystery
Tryin' to reach the touch of human
Calling is guiding
Dazzling her instincts
Calling is guiding
Dazzling her instincts
Hymn of temptation keeps calling
Makes her to believe the dream
She wants to lay to rest
And to take away her veil
Soon will feel the touch of the Taker
And will see the eyes of the Caller
CanÂ't resist the feeling
Hand in hand they will fall into sleep
Dancing with me
Forever the black waltz
Dancing with me
Forever the black waltz
Dancing with me
Forever the black waltz
Dancing with me
Forever the black waltz
The lyrics of Kalmah's song "The Black Waltz" tell the story of a woman who has lost her way and is being led down a dark path by a force that she cannot resist. She is described as "treatled," meaning she is weak and vulnerable, and has strayed from the "bless" she had earned before. The meaning of her life is gone, and she is wandering aimlessly through a world of mystery and dreams, seeking the touch of humanity.
Along the way, she is guided by a calling that dazzles her instincts, a hymn of temptation that leads her to believe in a dream that she wants to lay to rest. She cannot resist the feeling, and soon she will feel the touch of the Taker and see the eyes of the Caller, and they will fall into an eternal sleep, dancing forever to the black waltz.
The song seems to be a cautionary tale about the dangers of being led astray from one's path in life, and the consequences of being seduced by temptation and losing oneself to darkness. The Black Waltz is a metaphor for this seductive force, drawing in its victims with its hypnotic rhythm and leading them further and further down into the abyss.
Line by Line Meaning
And she walks her way so treatled
She moves carefully and cautiously.
Leads away from the bless she's earned
She's turning away from something she's been fortunate enough to receive in life.
Gone away the meaning
The significance of something has disappeared.
Before the day against the morning
Nighttime, before daylight.
Down the path of the blind souls she walks
She's journeying down a route of those who have lost their way in life.
Through the dreams of mystery
Amongst the perplexing fantasies.
Tryin' to reach the touch of human
Attempting to experience the connection of human interaction.
Finds the way to the secret lands
Discovers a path towards a concealed location or ideology.
Calling is guiding
The summons is leading her.
Dazzling her instincts
Sha dazzled by her intuition or innermost thoughts.
Hymn of temptation keeps calling
A seductive melody entices and lures her.
Makes her to believe the dream
It's convincing her to trust the fantasy.
She wants to lay to rest
She desires to let go and relax.
And to take away her veil
She yearns to have her cover removed, her true self exposed.
Soon will feel the touch of the Taker
She'll soon encounter the force that removes or takes from her.
And will see the eyes of the Caller
She'll come face to face with the one who is beckoning or summoning her.
Can't resist the feeling
She's unable to avoid or deny the sensation.
Hand in hand they will fall into sleep
They'll join together and drift into slumber.
Dancing with me
She's engaged in a dance with someone or something.
Forever the black waltz
It's a never-ending cycle of a dark, macabre waltz.
Dancing with me
She continues to dance with it.
Forever the black waltz
The dance and cycle will keep going on forever.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANTTI JOHANNES KOKKO, JANNE TAPANI KUSMIN, MARCO SNECK, PEKKA TAPIO KOKKO, TIMO JUHANI LEHTINEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nemesis Gia
And she walks her way so treatled
Leads away from the bless she's earned
Gone away the meaning
Before the day against the morning
Down the path of the blind souls she walks
Through the dreams of mystery
Tryin' to reach the touch of human
Finds the way to the secret lands
Calling is guiding
Dazzling her instincts
Calling is guiding
Dazzling her instincts
Hymn of temptation keeps calling
Makes her to believe the dream
She wants to lay to rest
And to take away her veil
Soon will feel the touch of the Taker
And will see the eyes of the Caller
Can't resist the feeling
Hand in hand they will fall into sleep
Dancing with me
Forever the black waltz
Dancing with me
Forever the black waltz
Dancing with me
Forever the black waltz
Dancing with me
Forever the black waltz
Dylan Valorfall
Why is everyone arguing over the most ridiculous shit?
To clear things up: KALMAH IS A MELODEATH BAND. EPIC LEAD GUITARS THAT MAKE YOU THINK OF TRAVERSING THE LAND AND BATTLING IN THE MEDIEVAL AGES! GUITARS THAT FUCKING SING! NO BREAKDOWNS! AWESOME SCREAMING VOCALS! THAT IS MELODEATH! THIS IS KALMAH! THIS IS THEIR BRAND OF MELODEATH!
Hope that helps.
Other bands similar to Kalmah, that are worth mentioning:
SKYFIRE (ANYTHING BEFORE ESOTERIC)
BE'LAKOR
OMNIUM GATHERUM
(OLD) In Flames (Anything before the year 2000, but mainly the early to mid 90's stuff)
Rizvan ahmed Rafsan
This band is criminally underrated
André Monteiro
I'd be willing to donate some money to Kalmah if they ever needed. Their musical genious must not be stopped!
Ronaldinho O Bruxo
This is a masterpiece, omfg how can this band be so underrated???
Ronny Henderson
They aren't really underrated, pretty much the whole Melodeath fanbase knows them
Ronaldinho O Bruxo
ok, but in general, for the majority of the metal fans that i know they even didn't knew Kalmah. I mean, they don't have a lot fans like Children of Bodom for example (and imo they are so much better than cob)
Not my name
You might want to check wintersun
Kiwicami
@Not my name Check Be'lakor \m/ If any band is underrated, its them
Dragon Claw
I can't believe the level of recognition these guys get.. which is next to nothing. This album and band is the best metal I've ever heard, far surpassing anything else in every aspect... lyrics... melody... mood... style... its all, for lack of a better word, perfect.
Mylovevc90
This is my favorite song by Kalmah, I could listen to it over and over and never get tired. This song is sick as hell!
Monsteroflopogis
I can't find a song that is even close to this greatness. This song is so amazing that no word in any language to describe it would do it justice! It is a shame that this isn't 200 million views.