Release date: 19th April 2024
Goddamn, do I love Verikalpa. Their brand of energetic, lively folk metal is just infectiously brilliant, and I can never get enough of it. Tuomio is the band’s fourth offering, and I can’t help but admire their consistency of releasing an album roughly around the same time every two years. Their output is impressive, and the fact it’s always so good is even more impressive.
Verikalpa never really reinvent the wheel with each release of theirs, but I personally don’t feel like that’s necessarily a bad thing. They have found their own sound; I can just hear a few lines of a song and just know it’s them. I love the energy, the emotion and the sheer catchiness of their music, and it just makes me so happy to listen to.
I particularly love the duo of Tuhkakruunu and Tulimerten taa, which hit you roughly in the middle of the album. Tuhkakruunu has a somewhat dark, mysterious vibe to it and pairs up nicely with the lively, energetic Tulimerten taa that follows it, which features one of the catchiest keyboard lines the band has written to date and a gloriously chunky wall of guitar riffs in the latter half of the song. Other highlights include the triumphant title track Tuomio, as well as Maat hauraan hautaa and Veritonttu – but genuinely, all the songs kick ass and there isn’t one that feels more like a filler track.
Verikalpa have done it again. Tuomio could well be their strongest release to date – I honestly can’t get enough of it. My only issue is that I’m way too eager to catch these live again, and their only confirmed date at present is one I am unable to make – but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for this problem to be hopefully rectified by the end of the year…!
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