In any given year, there are a few acts out there in the dense forests of folk metal that manage to not just put forth a worthwhile performance, but managing to really stand out and deliver a performance that is something to behold from beginning to end is accomplish something else altogether. As such, we’re lucky to see even just a handful of such names that do such in any year. While there’s always debate as to who should be brought up in that conversation, it’s my firm belief that Aita has deserved a place in that talk with all they brought forth in just their first album.

Despite the raw potential of what happens when you bring together folk and black metal, it is an insanely difficult blend to balance and makes sense out of. So many nooks and crannies with all the different surprises and splendors that one can ask for, it wouldn’t be out of the question to think newer names aren’t able to fully wield what’s possible with such a concoction. That being said, Aita, in just four tracks, are able to accomplish a staggering amount that other acts struggle to do in double the time. It could have been a simple creation that gave us but a taste of what they can deliver, yet it’s in the whole of “I” that we see a magnificent repertoire that is an absolute treat to fall into as no minute repeats anything that came before with the final closing moments of the album so expansive and soul-gripping that one cannot help but scramble to replay the experience. Taking into account many of the great cues that have made both these genres such a sight when brought together, Aita combines melody, folk instrumentation, grandeur, and so much more in just four tracks to make “I” far more than just another debut album grasping for success blindly in the dark. Rather, Aita takes one confident stride forward after another to ensure that this experience is not one that’s to leave your mind or soul any time soon.

As it stands right now, even as the list of names in this niche corner of the underground grows slowly but surely, there aren’t many out there that are able to deliver on the expectations and potential that some may cast upon the sound. Yet, that hasn’t stopped Aita from doing their best to seize the moment and show us what they can do, and “I” is more than enough proof that the act is capable of so much!

LISTEN to “I” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Aita on Facebook here.