Verikalpa - party folk extreme metal from Finland

Verikalpa

Tunturihauta

Scarlet Records

21 January 2022

The third album (11 songs in 47 minutes) by the Finns converts uptempo folk melodies into in a headbanging and rocking form of extreme metal, a lot more fun that listeners might expect. Contrary to what one may be thinking when they imagine the Verikalpa combination of styles, this is a rather consistent identity, not a genre-salad type of proposition. On this particular work, there is a considerable portion of black metal in the vocals, guitar work and tempos of the songs, and a feel of extreme metal in general, of the headbanging type. Compact and efficient, they arrive quickly at their party extreme metal, and without much in the way of extra things; no wandering off into experimentation, no tangents, no long intros and intermissions, just song after song of big-fun, big-party folk melodies of extreme metal joviality. Is it “party folk extreme metal” then? That’s probably a rather accurate description. They also have a keyboard player that uses keyboard sounds, but also other sounds like accordion (?) and who knows what else is sampled, or whatever it is that’s making accordion sounds come out of a keyboard. Folk and extreme metal have met before in other bands in other times, but they usually never have this much fun together.

It looks like once again all the lyrics are in Finnish. If I recall correctly, in the past the band has said that some of their lyrics are based on stories. Anyway, the lyrics, you could say, are meant to be in the folk genre. In terms of production, the sound is clear, and sometimes the guitars recede to make room for the keyboards, and vice versa, given that it is not pure folk nor pure extreme metal but rather a combination. Die-hard folk fans may prefer to hear an accordion player, which does not seem to be the case here, and die-hard black metal fans may prefer to hear live drums, but this sounds like programmed or sampled drums. The recording sounds good in the car or on a tiny phone. Overall, it is an entertaining recording that emphasizes melodies and fun in a headbanging way. Those German and other European summer festival audiences could take this band to a higher level of fame, possibly surprising the band themselves. It's all because the songs are pretty catchy.

Tunturihauta by Verikalpa

https://www.facebook.com/Verikalpa/