Stargazer Scholar
The world was a different place seven years ago. At least when it comes to its currently troubled corner that I happen to inhabit. No joys of pestilence, no thrills of societal cataclysms, just life in all its glorious bleakness and naive hopefulness. It was a genuinely decent time. I’ve seen worse. And it was in that relatively peaceful summer of 2018 that I stumbled upon an album premiere video by a certain one-woman Pagan Black Metal project from Finland. The artist’s name was Vermilia, the record was entitled Kätkyt, and it took me about a song and a half to fall in love, pause the stream, relocate to her Bandcamp page, and click “order”. That’s how I became a fan. Years rolled by, and here we are in 2025, with Vermilia’s third LP fresh from the metaphorical oven and waiting to be discovered.
Right off the bat, Karsikko draws you in with its swelling opener. A gorgeous, soaring melody delivered in Vermilia‘s instantly recognizable clean voice serves as a perfect entry point. If you sat down with the intention of quickly sampling a few tracks, allow me to disappoint you: it takes an incredible amount of willpower to disengage from this record. After the rousing prelude, the music gracefully erupts with a Black Metal assault that could be almost unsettling at its peaks of intensity. From here on, you’ll never know what to expect. Folky, memorable tunes? Check. Blast beats and deep growls? Check. Even more blast beats with otherworldly clean melodies on top? Check! Smart pacing that never lets a single motif overstay its welcome without threatening the overall flow? Check, a million times over!
How can something so dark and brooding also be so fiendishly vibrant? How can so many ideas coexist within a traditionalist genre without straying by a hairbreadth from its mystical essence? These questions could be dismissed with the simplest of explanations: talent. Talent in everything. Clever songwriting choices, compelling dynamics. Performance. And don’t get me started on the arrangements. The tasteful presence of keyboards adds a dreamy streak to an already atmospheric record, completing Vermilia‘s pincer move against the listener’s free will. And the clean singing is diverse and powerful as never before, from the most enchanting feminine croon you’ll ever hear to the commanding, witchy belting, to the aforementioned extreme vocals that cover the entire available spectrum. The persistent background growls underlying most of the clean melodies—like black earth underneath freshly fallen snow—add an extra dimension to the record’s dichotomy of melancholy and aggression and make transitions even smoother.
Vermilia achieves what only great artists can: she weaves a bewitching sonic tapestry in her own unique style, with countless little details to animate the bigger picture and elevate Karsikko above the habitual studio experience. Take ‘Veresi’, for example. That unexpected bass note that opens the song makes a well-structured composition sound like a jam, and the stirring, devilish groove reminiscent of later Moonsorrow that slides into a folky, anthemic melody makes for a mid-album highlight. ‘Koti’ is a deceptively simple chant with a polyphonic flourish, and ‘Suruhymni’ is a masterclass in Atmospheric Black Metal.
Vermilia is underrated. Undeservedly, criminally overlooked. I want her music to be heard nearly as much as I want my own ill-starred novels to be read, and, who knows, maybe this little eulogy will help her expand her audience, if just a little. The world may have changed beyond recognition within the gap that separated Vermilia‘s wonderful debut and her third album, but the artist herself has remained just as talented. If anything, she has come to the verge of truly realizing her limitless potential.
Label: self-released
Release date: 14 February 2025
Website: https://www.vermiliaofficial.com/
Country: Finland
Score: 4.5/5 (because I am sentimental)
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