It never ceases to amaze me just how damn eclectic the Svart Records roster of artists continues to be. These guys continue to pump out product from every conceivable genre, whether it be death & black metal, psychedelia, folk, prog, space rock, and everything in between. Verenvalaja, the latest & sophomore release from Finnish act Vainaja, is certainly no exception. Drawing influences from funeral doom as well as death metal, the band have created a concept album here that is described as: "Verenvalaja" translates into Blood Caster – the twisted one derailing the flow of life to stream towards his own creation. This noun is also the title of a tome, presumably written by Wilhelm Waenaa, a mystic figure of Finnish folklore. It is known that Wilhelm was one of the leading forces behind the 19th century cult of Vainaja spreading terror in rural Finland." Unless you understand the Finnish language, don't expect to have this story full revealed to you here, but there's no denying the massive power that this trio (Wilhelm, Aukusti, and Kristian) are able to generate. While "Risit" plods along slowly in funeral dirge mode, "Sielu" actually adds some gothic death metal to the mix, church organ, other keyboards, and vocals chants being thrown in for good measure. "Usva" is like a blend of vintage Black Sabbath and Opeth, melodic chants swirling around deep growls and monstrous doom riffs, while both "Kultti" and "Kehto" bring plenty of atmospheric elements to the otherwise slow, punishing doom/death formula. Verenvalaja is certainly not the most engaging album on first glance, as it tends to meander in spots and lack a variation in tempo, but then again many doom albums sometime fall into this pattern. Repeated spins reveal plenty of little nuances, and the overall power & drama of Verenvalaja will eventually start to win you over.
Track Listing
01 Risti
02 Sielu
03 Usva
04 Valaja
05 Kultti
06 Kehto
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