Vermilia - Ruska (2022)^{Release ID: 41714}

Quite possibly my favorite black metal release yet. Coming back to this site to get reacquainted with black metal and be more involved I need to put in my missed ratings here and how can I pass up to talk about the most beautiful album I heard over these last few years. Cold atmospheric pagan sounds that are oddly soothing and enwrap me in a warm blanket of and takes me through a journey of the  Scandinavian wilderness. This is meditative to me.  I love vocal harmonies, especially with dueling clean and harsh ones. Does a great job of making sound epic, but also soft. The blend is wonderful. The guitar work while also a bit simple, does the job well with my head bopping along while also relaxed. Even in the faster more "blackened" songs or harsh parts still have a softer side that is very welcoming. Never goes to the true dark side of black metal, but never goes full symphonic either. A journey worth taking, especially if you do like the more "epic" sounding metal with a bit of black and pagan. There probably is a style that this may emulate but  I'm not sure what it is, maybe I will edit this when I find a decent comparison.