After Gathiens another gem from Murkhouse recordings. This is Vakas debut and oh what a debut it is. Karl Daniel Liden, who is known from numerous bands and projects like A Swarn of the Sun or Dozer, is the biggest part of Vaka so it is clear that it can not be that bad.

This is obviously something like a post-metal band, but at least it is not "just another" post-metal band, but a post-metal band with it's own twist. Lidens drumming is heavy and intentive and the use of Keyboards and piano, along with harmonium, organ and mellotron, synthesizers, strings and some other things makes this special. Be prepared for an epic, monumental and very variable piece of music. The piano and Keyboard make this very gloomy, even kind of black-metalish and very dark a few times, but in the next second he completely turns around and switches to a soflty flowing and organic vibe.The songs are highly layered and textured and nicely crafted with a lot of thought behind them.

Vaka are intense, very heavy and more importantly very dense and they definitely stand out. It is a pleasure listening to their debut "Kappa, Delta, Phi" and it is comforting to see a band - in a genre that is copying itself a lot lately - doing things differently and with a lot of ambition and new ideas. 

www.murkhouserecordings.com