A new tale for Vermilia.
Julia “Vermilia” Mattila (vocals/all instruments) has kept us waiting for three years to finally give life to Karsikko, her third album, which she is once again releasing on her own.
The album opens with title track Karsikko, and its few notes of piano quickly replaced by an airy, bewitching rhythm, a few backing vocals and then the musician’s voice. Whether saturated, clear or both at the same time, her vocals clearly lead the way, carrying us away with their folk influences or majestic passages, before moving on to Vakat, which also gets off to a slow start, but is much more ferocious. There’s more ranting than on the previous track, fuelling the raw violence but creating a contrast with the mystical passages, just as on Kivutar, which features overpowering drums to counterbalance the gentleness. The track is definitely one of the band’s most aggressive, but also one of its most mysterious, exploiting the Black Metal roots under a hazy veil that are also found on Suruhymni, where soaring touches meet violence and piercing leads. The progression is as natural as it is haunting, leading us to the icy Koti and its very present traces of NeoFolk, which tint not only the introduction but the entire short track with a heavy, unifying veil, before returning to dissonance on Veresi, where the slowness is different. The saturated vocals are always present in the background, but the track is relatively soothing and heady, unlike Talven Jälkeen which erupts into rage and aggression at every turn, even if the vocals are very gentle and rather mystical. Back to virulent Pagan influences with Kansojen Kaipuu, the last composition which largely confirms the new influences and brutality of this album, with once again moments of saturated vocals alone, but also more impressive passages which fit perfectly with this unifying atmosphere.
Vermilia has always been able to combine its Black Metal base with its Folk/Pagan atmosphere, enabling it to combine gentleness and violence on Karsikko. If you’ve enjoyed their previous releases, you’ll fall in love with them in no time.
95/100