The Finnish black metal scene is no less than absolutely immense given the country’s massive reputation for being a straight up breeding ground for the genre. Recent years continue to prove that fact with class acts such as Mork and Whispered making their presences known throughout the world, but the underground holds other treasures as it always does. One gem that I’ve overlooked until now is Verge whose vicious blending of black metal with other styles makes their upcoming album something that’ll keep you guessing from beginning to end.

To be yet another group of guys who really like black metal is something that’s easy enough to do when you’ve literally thousands upon thousands of black metal bands in your country to draw influence from (that’s not even including the rest of the world), and it’s a challenge that many new bands of the style face when trying to make a sound that’s interesting to listen to that both the band members and listeners can enjoy. I’ve heard Verge before but wasn’t quite feeling it at that time (a few years ago), but now that they have a new piece coming out I figured there’s no better time to reinvestigate, and while I’m not incredibly thrilled over what I found, there’s no denying the band’s prowess. “The Process of Self-Becoming” is an album that appears to be split into three separate acts across seven tracks, and it feels so much more mature from what I previously heard from Verge. This new effort sees these men create a piece that is not only crushing around its core and outer shell of black metal but layered throughout by influences from outside styles as Verge manages to whip out guitar solos reminiscent of heavy metal and even daring to introduce a set of clean vocals to bring a different feel entirely to the music, and some ambient sections show up to really show that “The Process of Self-Becoming” is a true three dimensional experience of black metal. Not many bands can make a switch in such a relatively short span of time that Verge has, but this Finnish band proves that they aren’t your typical group trying to be kvlt for the sake of being kvlt.

This record has got loads of meat on its bones that’s quite a bit to pick through if you’re not expecting it, and it makes for quite the interesting piece despite this piece not being something I’d listen to casually (but that’s just my shitty taste). Verge has definitely got the makings to make more than a simple splash in the incredibly dense and populated black metal scene of their country, and that’s saying a bit given the raw talent of the country’s underground as a whole. We see glimpses of something truly great with “The Process of Self-Becoming”, and I’ve no doubt that it’s going to be unleashed upon us soon, whatever that may be.

“The Process on Self-Becoming” releases on September 15th via I, Voidhanger Records!

LIKE Verge on Facebook here.