12 Gauge (Kalmah album)

12 Gauge is the sixth studio album by the Finnish melodic death metal band Kalmah, released on 3 March 2010. The album was recorded with more thrash metal elements than their previous releases, while the melodies that the band is known for and environmental themes regarding the swamps of Finland were retained. 12 Gauge was recorded in three sessions over a three-month period at Tico-Tico Studios in Finland.

12 Gauge
Studio album by
Kalmah
Released3 March 2010[1]
RecordedJune–August 2009
StudioTico-Tico Studios, Finland
GenreMelodic death metal, thrash metal
Length42:58
LabelSpinefarm
ProducerKalmah
Kalmah chronology
For the Revolution
(2008)		 12 Gauge
(2010)		 Seventh Swamphony
(2013)

Each of the band members kept in touch with their fans by keeping track of their recording sessions online at the official website's studio diary. In addition, guitarist Antti Kokko videotaped the recording and photo shoot sessions. Seven videos were posted online during the months leading up to the album's release. Promotion for the album was otherwise minimal. There were no official singles, but the track "Bullets Are Blind" was released on a 2-CD compilation included with Soundi magazine's 35th anniversary issue, and a music video to the album's title track was produced and posted online.

12 Gauge received generally favorable reviews by European and American critics, with a few considering it better than either of its immediate predecessors, For the Revolution and The Black Waltz. It was agreed that the band succeeded in producing a thrashier album, but most critics found the music to be less sophisticated than the band's previous efforts. 12 Gauge charted in two countries, peaking at number 32 in Canada and number 15 in the band's homeland. Because the band had not been offered a worldwide tour, support for the album would be limited to Europe and Canada.

Background

When Kalmah began writing music for their melodic death metal[2][3] album, their intent was to incorporate more "aggressive thrash material" than their previous recordings had. As a result, the songs were going to be, as vocalist Pekka Kokko described, "quite straightforward", but the band did not want to lose the melodies they were known for. The album would not be entirely thrash metal, since the band planned on adding acoustic guitar sections[4] and also trumpets.[5]

We just wanted to sound more aggressive ... because you don’t hear many stirring thrash metal bands nowadays.

— Pekka Kokko, Metal-Experience[4]

Antti Kokko, the primary songwriter for 12 Gauge, composed the riffs and melodies at his home. These ideas were developed into complete songs during rehearsals.[4] Guitar and keyboard solos were then written,[6] sometimes with both instruments soloing in the same song, trading off repeatedly.[2] Two of the tracks, "Godeye" and "Sacramentum", were composed entirely by keyboardist Marco Sneck,[7] including the solos.[6]

When the music was completed, Pekka began working on the lyrics,[4] which were inspired by various topics, including "politics, religion ... drinking, failure, [and] pessimism".[4] Several of the songs shared an environmental theme. "Hook the Monster" was about fishing,[4][7] "12 Gauge" was inspired by hunting,[4] and the impact of land development in the swamps of Finland was the subject of "Swampwar". Commenting further on the swamps, Pekka remarked, "[those] valuable areas are a part of our northern wilderness and [are] always threatened to be ditched or drained. People are interested in those areas [to use] as a source of energy."[8]

Production

Recording and mixing took place at Tico-Tico Studios in Kemi, Finland.[9] The studio's schedule was too full for a single recording session, so Kalmah had to book time to record the album in three separate sessions,[6] between the months of May and August 2009.[9] The majority of tracks were recorded in May, beginning with Janne Kusmin's drums, which were completed by 12 May. Kusmin was not able to play as well as he had hoped because he had not been practicing. As a result, several of his drum parts were changed.[10]

By the following week, Timo Lehtinen had finished laying down the bass tracks. His technique was to play nearly all his parts with downstrokes to bring "more balls to the sound". He continued recording even after his thumb had formed a blister. According to Lehtinen, he used only two bass string sets and broke five picks.[10]

Pekka and Antti took turns recording their rhythm and lead guitar parts, respectively.[10] Both guitarists played by striking the guitar strings at a 45-degree angle to achieve a more aggressive sound.[6] Several of the guitar techniques used on the album had specific names: "Jynkhä" described the rapid succession of downstrokes,[11] and a slower version of this technique was called "perusjynkhä."[12] Speed-picking with alternating upstrokes and downstrokes was referred to as "hionta",[13] Finnish for grinding. Some of the techniques used were difficult for Pekka, and his brother Antti took the time to show him proper fingering and grasps.[10]

The acoustic guitars were played by Antti.[14] Ahti Kortelainen, the album's recording engineer, was credited by the band for his input on how the acoustic guitars were recorded, especially for the song "Sacramentum".[4] All the guitar tracks, excluding the solos, were finished by 28 May.[10]

By the middle of June, Pekka had recorded vocals for five tracks, which Antti described as "very raw ... the way we want them to be". Pekka's vocals would continue to be recorded in August, and he completed them on 20 August. Antti had also completed his guitar solos by June and was pleased with the results. "For me, the solos are [the] best that I have ever managed to create, and I'm very satisfied."[10] After a summer break, the band returned to record Sneck's keyboards, which took place over three days, 17–19 August. Sneck worked with software effects for the first time,[10] along with sound modules.[5] He introduced synthesized horns to the band's instrumentation,[10] but an actual trumpet was used for the intro to "Rust Never Sleeps".[5]

Pekka Kokko performing in Helsinki, Finland on 6 March 2010.

Although the band produced the album,[7] Pekka stated that Antti was the main producer[8] since he was present at every step of the production, including mixing and mastering.[4] Because they were comfortable self-producing on all their previous albums, they refused to bring in an outside record producer for 12 Gauge. "This concept has worked for us since the beginning and we just want to trust it. Everything goes easy with this setup and we don’t want any extra risk factors".[8] Mastering for the disc took place at the Cutting Room in Stockholm, Sweden.[8]

The title of the album was chosen by Pekka and Antti, who both enjoy hunting. They wanted to draw a comparison between the shotgun shells and the music.[4] Pekka added that the title also alludes to "unpleasant matters" that the listener can infer from his lyrics.[8] When it came time to design the album cover, the band decided against using computer-generated graphics. They commissioned Rami Mursula to create a hand-drawn piece of artwork, depicting a man emerging from the swamp to fight a beast. Pekka explained the symbolism: "In Kalmah's mindset, there is Swamplord defending his marshlands against [the] monster created by common materialism, industrial pollution and [the] world-wide nausea of globalism." The layout was inspired by Akseli Gallen-Kallela's 1896 painting, The Defense of the Sampo.[8]

Promotion

Images used in the album artwork were photographed by Vesa Ranta at one of Finland's many swamps.[8] The photo session was documented by Antti in a two-part video, titled "The Call of the Wild."[15] These, and five other short videos documenting the recording of 12 Gauge, were uploaded in the months leading up to the album's release.

There was no official single, but in December 2009, the track "Bullets Are Blind" was included on a 2-CD collection released as a companion to the 35th anniversary issue of Soundi magazine,[16] and a music video was shot and posted online for the track "12 Gauge".[9] In February 2010, Kalmah launched a second MySpace page solely dedicated to the new album.[17] The album was released on CD and digital download in Japan in February, followed by releases in Canada and Europe in March, and in the US in April. A vinyl pressing was also made available in April, limited to 500 copies.[18]

There would not be a worldwide tour to promote the album because the band had not received a "decent offer". The 12 Gauge promotion was therefore limited to several gigs in Finland[4] and a brief 10-show tour in Canada.[19][20] The 4 March performance in Jyväskylä, Finland, was considered to be the album's release party.[21]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [22]
Blistering8/10 [23]
Imperiumi.net8+/10 [24]
MetalEaterB+ [25]
NecroWeb10/10 [26]
PopMatters8/10 [2]
Soundi4/5 [27]
Stalker8.5/10 [28]

Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia said Kalmah's sixth album was "more aggressive than its immediate predecessors".[22] David E. Gehlke of Blistering was already devoted to Kalmah's previous album, For the Revolution, so he had high expectations for 12 Gauge. He found the album full of "break-neck riff action", "visceral melodies", and "daring" dueling between Antti's guitar and Sneck's keyboard. Although Gehlke believed that Kalmah gets better with each output, he decided that 12 Gauge did not "match the ... glory" of For the Revolution.[23]

Jussi Kallinen of Imperiumi.net said that Pekka's vocals harkened back to the band's 2006 album, The Black Waltz. He said the album was not anything new, but he found the production to be the best of Kalmah's releases.[24] MetalEater's Sean Bester decided Kalmah's strength lay in their consistency: "releasing energetic and melodic music with consistent intervals of time between them, delivering tracks that are consistently likable, and each one is consistent with the sound they've firmly established for themselves."[25] NecroWeb gave the album a perfect score, because it was "beautifully arranged", "wonderfully varied", did not contain any filler material, and it succeeded at combining melodic thrash with blackened death metal[26] (a combination of black metal and death metal).

Chris Colgan, writing for PopMatters, found the album to have the longest and most intricate solos yet, and he, too, mentioned the increased trading off between Antti's and Sneck's solos. He thought it important that Kalmah had "not fallen prey to the tendency of introducing American metal elements or becoming more mainstream with their sound. Their music now is as unique as it was in their early years, if not more so".[2] Marko Säynekoski of Soundi described the performances as "controlled", "burly", and "performed effortlessly".[27] Stalker's Kathleen Gransalke admitted that she was unfamiliar with Kalmah's previous work, but she was nevertheless impressed with its technicality, double-guitar melodies, fast solos, and the combining of genres. She called the album "a lot of fun to listen to".[28]

"12 Gauge" music video
Pekka Kokko singing. Camera effects simulated the influences of a mysterious drink.

A music video was created for the song "12 Gauge", though the acoustic intro was excised from the final version.[17] It was shot on 20 February 2010 in Pudasjärvi, Finland,[9] in some of the coldest temperatures the country had had in decades.[6] The morning temperature when the band began filming was recorded at −37 °C (−35 °F), rising only to −27 °C (−17 °F) at the end of the day.[9] The band and camera operator were kept warm by a bonfire, though Antti said that they were used to cold temperatures.[6]

The video, which debuted online on 1 March [29] was produced by the record label, Spinefarm, and Kalmah. The camera and Steadicam operator was Markus Lintu, and Kalmah's bassist, Timo Lehtinen, edited and color-timed the final product.[30]

The video cuts between two narratives. In the first, a hunter (uncredited actor) straps a 16-gauge shotgun around his shoulder, and tracks footsteps through the snow, eventually finding the Swamplord (the band's mascot, here as depicted on the covers of The Black Waltz and For the Revolution).[6] In the second narrative, the band members, dressed warmly in heavy clothing,[9] are sitting around a campfire, preparing a kettle of an unknown drink. As each person takes a sip, they begin convulsing. To simulate the drink's effects, the camera used shaking and rapid zooming. As the song finishes, Pekka pours himself a drink and is the only one immune to its effects.[30]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Pekka Kokko.

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Rust Never Sleeps"Antti Kokko5:16
2."One of Fail"A. Kokko4:10
3."Bullets Are Blind"A. Kokko4:27
4."Swampwar"A. Kokko, Pekka Kokko, Timo Lehtinen4:19
5."Better Not to Tell"A. Kokko3:58
6."Hook the Monster"P. Kokko4:04
7."Godeye"Marco Sneck4:25
8."12 Gauge"A. Kokko5:50
9."Sacramentum"Sneck6:27
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Cold Sweat" (Thin Lizzy cover)John Sykes, Phil Lynott3:10

Personnel

Charts
Chart (2010)Peak
position
Canadian Albums Chart[31] 32
Finnish Albums Chart[32] 15

Release history
Region Date Label Format
Canada 2 March 2010 Spinefarm[33][34] CD
Europe 3 March 2010 CD, vinyl[18]
Japan 24 February 2010 King[35] CD
United States 6 April 2010 Fontana Universal[36]
gollark: An apioswarm.
gollark: Why would it do an `alert` saying so otherwise?!
gollark: It totally did.
gollark: ++remind 19h ejsnwn w wbe
gollark: Testbot and the RSAPI interface clearly have bad autoreconnect.

References
  1. KALMAH: Photos From '12 Gauge' Video Shoot Posted Online blabbermouth.net, retrieved 27 December 2017
  2. Colgan, Chris (5 April 2010). "Kalmah: 12 Gauge". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  3. Killjoy, Troy (staff) (24 February 2010). "Kalmah - 12 Gauge review". metalstorm.net. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  4. Straver, Eugene (12 March 2010). "Interview Kalmah 2010". Metal-Experience.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  5. Sneck, Marco (keyboardist) (3 September 2009). "Kalmah 12 Gauge part 5" (Streaming video) (in Finnish and English). Finland: Antti Kokko's YouTube channel. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  6. Eckart (27 March 2010). "Kalmah (interview with Antti)". Metal.de (in German). Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  7. 12 Gauge (CD liner). Kalmah. Spinefarm Records. 2010.CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. Vasiljevic, Nemanja; Marko Miranovic. "Rust Never Sleeps". Metal Sound. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  9. "Kalmah: Photos From '12 Gauge' Video Shoot Posted Online". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. 24 February 2010. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  10. "Kalmah – Web Gauge (studio diary)". Kalmah.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  11. Kokko, Antti (guitarist) (28 May 2009). "Kalmah 12 Gauge part 3" (Streaming video) (in Finnish and English). Finland: Antti Kokko's YouTube channel. Event occurs at 2 minutes 37 seconds. Retrieved 2 May 2010. In Kalmah we call this 'Jynkhä'. We don't do upstrikes.
  12. Kokko, Antti (guitarist) (28 May 2009). "Kalmah 12 Gauge part 3" (Streaming video) (in Finnish and English). Finland: Antti Kokko's YouTube channel. Event occurs at 3 minutes 55 seconds. Retrieved 2 May 2010. And of course 'perusjynkhä'.
  13. Kokko, Antti (guitarist) (28 May 2009). "Kalmah 12 Gauge part 3" (Streaming video) (in Finnish and English). Finland: Antti Kokko's YouTube channel. Event occurs at 3 minutes 34 seconds. Retrieved 2 May 2010. And then we do 'hionta' as we call it.
  14. Kokko, Antti (guitarist) (18 May 2009). "Kalmah 12 Gauge part 2" (Streaming video) (in Finnish and English). Finland: Antti Kokko's YouTube channel]. Event occurs at 1 minutes 31 seconds. Retrieved 24 May 2011. Antti's turn to play some acoustic stuff.
  15. Kalmah (band), Vesa Ranta (5 October 2009). "Kalmah 12 Gauge part 6" (Streaming video) (in Finnish and English). Finland: Antti Kokko's YouTube channel. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  16. "35 vuotta – 36 biisiä (35 years – 36 songs)". Soundi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  17. "Kalmah to Shoot New Music Video for '12 Gauge'". Metal Underground.com. 17 February 2010. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  18. "Kalmah: 12 Gauge LP". Svart Records. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  19. "Kalmah: Canadian Tour Announced". Blabbermouth.net. 21 October 2010. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  20. "Kalmah – Web Gauge". Kalmah.com. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  21. "Kalmah: Schedules Finnish Dates". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. 19 January 2010. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  22. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "12 Gauge – Kalmah Review". Allmusic. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  23. Gehlke, David E. "Blistering.com Review: Kalmah – 12 Gauge". Blistering. Blistering Media Inc. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  24. Kallinen, Jussi (3 March 2010). "Levyarviot: Kalmah – 12 Gauge". Imperiumi.net (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  25. Bester, Sean. "Album Reviews – Kalmah – 12 Gauge". MetalEater.com. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  26. Hypnotoad. "Kalmah – 12 Gauge CD Review". NecroWeb.de (in German). Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
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  30. Kalmah (actors), Timo Lehtinen (editor) (1 March 2010). "12 Gauge music video" (Music video). SpinefarmRec. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
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