Latest News About The Industrial Metal Band | Poltinmerkki Resists And Prepares New Material
Poltinmerkki surprised us with its unique take on Industrial Metal with its 2023 album titled “Steel Star,” a record that dove headfirst into a relatively unexplored subgenre within the White Metal scene.
In fact, at the time we noted that “Steel Star”, beyond Poltinmerkki’s usual style, was unique in that it was made “the old-fashioned way”, as we like to say; meaning that the Finns don’t rely as much on the technological aspects so in vogue today, but rather play their instruments themselves—and that’s very evident in an outstanding old-school production that still maintains a sound that sets them apart from the rest.
The band formed in 2002 and consists of Janne Virtanen on guitar and vocals, Ari Vinen on drums, and Ville Viuhko on bass (who recently left the band), with Sauli Paukkonen contributing solely in the studio.
It’s strange and quite unusual for a band of their caliber to be just a trio. Despite how long they’ve been together as a band, Poltinmerkki didn’t release their first album until 2015; it was titled “Askeel Eteenpâin.” Afterward, they released various singles digitally until the launch of their second album, titled “Steel Star”, in 2023—their first album sung entirely in English.
We hadn’t heard from them in quite some time, but the band has been keeping busy. Ari Vinen, Poltinmerkki’s drummer, told us they’re on the move. “There are some pretty interesting things coming up”, he hinted, and to reinforce this, he confirmed that “…Since our last gigs in the Baltic countries, we’ve been working on new material.”
This confirms what the band itself announced on social media, but Ari Vinen gave us a bit more insight into the matter: “right now we have a pretty interesting situation: we have plenty of raw material, and little by little, it’s developing in the desired direction”, he told us.
In fact, the direction mentioned by Poltinmerkki’s drummer is a continuation of the style the band established on “Steel Star,” and in that regard, Ari Vinen noted that “…probably the industrial and mechanical elements may be slightly more prominent.”
Even so, there’s a small issue the band needs to resolve. Their bassist, Ville “Wildu” Viuhko, had to leave the band. “Ville decided to leave the band for personal reasons, and at the moment we are without a bassist”, Vinen told us. “We don’t have a replacement yet, and for now, we’re keeping our eyes open and seeing what happens. In the end, we believe that our Heavenly Father will guide us through this and lead us to the right solution”, he affirmed.
Even so, it seems that nothing will stop Poltinmerkki’s progress—a band that has been fighting its way up from the bottom for quite some time now and, as we mentioned, has new and concrete goals for the future. “Right now, there is one pretty interesting project going on, and the results of this will be made public in the near future”, Poltinmerkki’s drummer told us; “In the longer term, we are working purposefully on new material, and someday there will be a new release in one form or another”, he added.
For those who aren’t familiar with Poltinmerkki or have never had the chance to dive into their world, we’ve included below our review of their 2023 album “Steel Star” and the interview we had with the band early last year, so you can get to know them better and, while you’re at it, give their music a listen—it’s quite interesting and out of the ordinary. Below, you’ll find the lyric video for the song “Fight Of Faith,” and of course, we’ve also included their social media handles so you can follow them and stay up to date on their news and updates…
https://www.facebook.com/poltinmerkki
https://www.instagram.com/poltinmerkki_official
