Spiritual Angel, the as-yet-unreleased album from Kälter, a five piece from Canada, is nothing short of brilliant. I loved this album from start to finish. From the keyboards, to the vocals; from the drums to the guitars – it’s all so perfectly well written. Spiritual Angel is full of addictive choruses, catchy vocals, and downright jaw-dropping guitars.

“Darker By The Day” starts off this amazing album with Jean-Francois Racine’s captivating keyboards that lead into face-melting melodic death metal. “Time Out of Mind” follows behind with some amazing clean guest vocals from Unexpect’s Leilindel. I must say that the guitars of Marc-Andre Lafreniere and Mathieu Plamondon really shine in this song. The melody and riffs really make you want to just drop everything to run out and buy this album if you don’t have it. Drummer Lucas Biron is on tack with every beat, and doesn’t miss a second. It’s amazing how well the guitars and drums go together. I love it when a band can accomplish that. The keyboard solos are reminiscent of Children of Bodom, but at the same time, keep their own identity. And I love the lyric “whispering my last goodbye” in this song.

Kälter is definitely doing something that has already been done; but they aren’t just copying it, they are making it better. It’s like finding an old piece of furniture which looks like crap and giving it a makeover with some added extras. That’s what these guys are doing, and it’s really beautiful. I love how they pop out of nowhere with their harmonized shredding and sweeps. Vocalist Marc-Andre Lafreniere has definitely found his groove, because he never goes off key.

The only complaint I have about the album is that the songs are long, with most of them clocking in at (or around) eight minutes. But fortunately they don’t lose my attention. That’s hard for a band to do, because normally I get tired of them and turn it off. If you used to like Children of Bodom and grew out of them (or didn’t), definitely check these guys out.

I really can’t recommend just one track to check out, so I’ll toss out a few of my favorites. “Time Out of Mind” and “Of Tears and Blood” most definitely stand out to me. I really hope these guys stick around and put out at least five more albums similar to Spiritual Angel. I really enjoyed the listen and hope you do too!

4.5/5