Losing words about this finish band Kalmankantaja (in english: Deathbearer) seems to be like carrying owls to athens, if you know what I mean. They founded in 2011 and they quickly became well known in the so-called bm underground as artists who show that quality and quantity aren’t mutually exclusive. From time to time mastermind Grim666 was and still is supported by several vocalists such as Tyrant from Malum. But this time he did everything by himself. 17 albums, nearly an uncountable amount of split releases and on top of that some compilations in only 10 years of activity are really incredible. The current album thematically is the continuation of „Viimeinen Virsi“ (2014). The album title means as much as „Last anthem – Art Of A Sick Soul“. The author of the work shall improve myself in case of doubt, because finish language isn’t my mother tongue. As used to Kalmankantaja these songs unfold their very unique repetitive magic throughout their excess length of each song. This time there are just three songs with a total playtime of around 38 minutes. Already the opening track „Musta Viha Sielussani“ („Black Wrath Of The Soul“), which starts with whispering and howling as well as the creak of a door, takes the listener into another world full of melancholy and tristesse. The guitars and the accompanying keyboards just go hand in hand in there. The drums listenable quite well without being much too intrusive. And finally the vocals on this record have been taken over exclusively by Grim666. They slightly convey kind of a „Filosofem“ feel, because they are as distorted as on the mentioned classic. In the middle of this song a nice acoustic guitar is included. Song No. 2 „Minnun On Valta Ja Voima“ („Mine Is The Power And The Might“) continues the mood of its predecessor. It is consistently slow and in my opinion just a little more melancholic, if not to say even sadder. All in all I must say that this album musically takes a step back to the very beginnings of Kalmankantaja with DSBM which can be heard on their first records. Instead of that nowadays they generally play a more atmospheric style of bm which for example can be heard on records like „Kaski“. But the whole thing is comprehensible, because it has to be seen as a continuation of „Viimeinen Virsi“, which was released in 2014. Finally the instrumental track „Lopussa On Vain Kuolema“ („In The End There Is Only Death“) stands as the conclusion of this record. It’s full of atmosphere and indulgence. The artwork is, well, extremely worth watching. At the end of the day there is only question left: when does this guy find the time for eating and sleeping? I’m just going to ask, because he’s got a bunch of other projects out there. The album was released digitally at the beginning of septenber 2020. Wolfspell Records from Poland released this one physically on cd at the beginning of november 2020 in a limited edition of 500 pieces. Now we are only waiting for a vinyl to come. All in all, this album is absolutely top notch.
Rating
6 out of 6
Line-Up
Grim666: EVERYTHING
Listening example
Tracklist
1.) Musta Viha Sielussani
2.) Minnun On Valta Ja Voima
3.) Lopussa On Vain Kuolema
To order there
At bandcamp strangely no longer available
But physically you can buy it there:
https://wolfspell.pl/en_US/p/KALMANKANTAJA-Viimeinen-Virsi-II-DigiCD/3850
Seelenfeuer BM Online Magazin 