Verikalpa – ‘Taistelutahto’ (2018)
Rating: 8/10
Release: 16 February 2018
Label: Inverse Records
2017 was not a huge year in Finnish folk metal. Even with releases by Ensiferum, Haive and Wintersun, it was relatively quiet in the Land Of The Thousand Lakes. Verikalpa is going to kick off 2018 in true Finnish folk metal fashion with their long-awaited debut with “Taistelutahto” (I will say it translates to “Fighting Spirit”). Having been in existence since 2006, I have done the math and it is 12 years until this has arrived in the form of a 10 track 36-minute drunk, troll, free for all debut of an album. The influences to me or sound a likes were plentiful… take some Ensiferum and mix with some Nordheim, Finntroll, Voloh, Svartby, Trollgasm and Vorgrum and you should already know that this is gonna rock your brain. Swampy to an extent but not overly so with slightly faster than mid tempo tracks that punch you in the guts, all good stuff. The average track length is between 3-4 minutes with album closer “Rautatammi” breaking the 6-minute mark. Verikalpa is a 6-piece unit with dual guitar, bass, drums, vox and keys so maybe not folkiest combination but it has enough of the riffing, vocal style and keys variations to make it work. The guitar sound and style is thick as fog and is the first thing I noticed upon the first listen and with repeated listens everything else falls into place and is super cohesive and face smashing.
The first single and video “Tyrmä” is a pretty good launching point to get into Verikalpa and if you like that then the rest of the album will be on your rotation list. So, what is holding them back? Well I would have said lack of drive but now that they have put an album out, it looks like they are ready to conquer. I would say they might not come across as super original but the fact that they have some very similar styles track wise to some established acts could actually work in their favor. Time will tell.
The mix and overall sound is polished and heavy with all parts gelling well together. A nice start 12 years down the road for Verikalpa and let’s hope they keep the momentum going…..
Tracklist
- Viimiseen asti
- Tyrmä
- Neidonryöstäjä
- Kuoppajaiset
- Pahan Laulu
- Verijuhula
- Taistelutahto
- Viinapiru
- Kuoleman Suo
- Rautatammi