Artist: Veitsi
Country: Finland
Label: River Valley Cult
Formats: Demo Tape
Year: 2026
Anyone who regularly visits these pages has likely come across Veitsi before. Not counting the other projects and bands associated with Veitsi, this is already the seventh time we’ve dedicated a few words to this Finnish band. Behind it all is the ever-restless M., who seems to fill his days solely with creating Black Metal in the simplest and purest form imaginable. ‘Druhtinaz’ is already the second demo of this year and the final instalment of a trilogy; not only do they feature matching artwork and design, but musically, the three demos are also closely related.
But, although related, the three demos do have their differences as well. If you listen to all three of them in succession you’ll hear that each of these three recordings have something to offer that sets it apart from the other two. But, in the bigger scheme of things it doesn’t really feel that way. At least, if you start listening to ‘Fenno-ugrilainen Yliherruus’ first and then go ahead to the second, ‘Kalevanpoika Herää!’, and up with this last one, it truly feels like you have been listening to the band growing into something slightly new.
What that means is that the first demo tape of this trilogy is by far the rawest and most crude in nature, actually fitting very well to the overall body of work of Veitsi. The second one showed more space for melody and has an overall stronger pagan/heathen atmosphere, while still retaining the stripped-down Veisti formula. That development is continued on this last one, ‘Druhtinaz’. In fact, ‘Druhtinaz’ is perhaps the most traditional and most accessible Veitsi recording to date.
The use of folk-inspired melodies has been expanded, which almost naturally results in a slightly more accessible recording. That’s not to say that the essential elements that define Veitsi have been altered too much. Veitsi is still that Black Metal band with a Punk attitude, sharing common ground with Akitsa, Ildjarn, and fellow Finns Vordr. But the Heavy Metal-esque guitar parts, as I also mentioned in my review of ‘Kalevanpoika Herää!’, are undoubtedly much more prominent. Through these “adjustments,” if you will, Veitsi has increasingly managed to create a sound all its own.
Although the trilogy has come to an end, and I don’t expect M. to be a Peter Jackson-type figure who’ll keep churning out prequels and sequels, these recordings will be released together one last time on CD via the Finnish label Out Of The Dungeon. But don’t worry, as we’ve come to know M., there will soon be new material of his to enjoy, if not from Veitsi, then from one of the other projects he’s involved in.
