Veitsi – Perikato

Artist: Veitsi
Country: Finland
Label: Breath Of Pestilence
Formats: CD
Year: 2025

After a good couple of demos, EP’s and a split tape with Geatkihaukr, early this year the Finnish one-man army of Veitsi returns with its first full-length album. Most of those earlier recordings differ quite a bit from each other when it comes to the overall sound and feel, some are darker, others are more bareboned. All of them are worthy of checking out, but it is clear that M.K. was using these shorter recordings to experiment with different tones and texture, or at least that is the impression that this prolific band leaves. But, in the end, that is what demos were meant for in the first place. On the other hand, that leaves open what direction Veitsi would go on its first full-length record.

While the music might have a bit of different connotation from release to release, all of them do have a distinct Punk-fuelled vibe to them, making Veitsi fit very well into this particular niche of Black Metal that blends in equal degrees of Punk into their Black Metal. The Punk/Oi! influences are not merely felt in the simple but effective up-beat rhythms, but also in the catchy melodies and overall attitude of the music. There’s a palpable middle-finger-aesthetic through the whole album, mainly felt in the thrusting pace and aggressive riffing. Take a listen to ‘Kirous Perkeleen Nimeen’ for instance, this song is as much Darkthrone as it is early Exploited or Stiff Little Fingers.

‘Perikato’, Finnish for ‘Destruction’, is not only living up to its title because of the Punk attitude, but it also sound fiercer and above all much sharper than the previously release ‘Sotaa & Tuhkaa’ EP, which was predominantly darker and less up-tempo. The speed is quite remarkable and perhaps the most ear-catching. The fast tremolo leads sometimes even remind of bands like Forteresse, but the melodies are laid in a totally different soundscape and M.K.’s harsh and equally aggressive vocals do prevent any further comparing with the finesse of those Canadian bands.

Although, it wasn’t quite sure which way Veitsi would go exactly and it was a matter of waiting for this album to be released to see how things would develop, I can safely conclude that ‘Perikato’ is an album to seamlessly fits in the established Veitsi tradition. Maybe a bit more ferocious than expected with even more Punk/Oi! in there, but everything is woven together in such a natural way that it is equally safe to say that ‘Perikato’ simply is Veitsi’s best work to date.