Viikate (FI)
From Kouvola
Popularity
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About
Few Finnish metal bands blur the line between gloomy bar poetry and heavy riffs quite like Viikate. Formed in Kouvola in 1996, they built their sound around the melancholic spirit of 1950s Finnish romance cinema and crooners like Reino Helismaa, which has earned their style affectionate genre tags like "Helismaa metal" and "death schlagers". Songs like "Pohjoista viljaa", "Ei enkeleitä" and "Viina, terva ja hauta" became their calling cards, mixing heavy guitar work with lyrics that wallow in darkness with a knowing wink. Over more than two decades the band has put out a remarkable string of albums and EPs, keeping a steady pace that most acts could only dream of. The core lineup settled into four members after Arvo and Ervo joined Kaarle and Simeoni in 2001, and that chemistry has held ever since. Their 2020 album Rillumarei! and recent single "Varjorastaat" show they have lost none of their appetite for pairing bleak Finnish poetry with satisfying, heavy sound.
