Photo by T. IkäheimonenCosmic Church is, in my own humble opinion, one of Finland's best and most underrated black metal entities. They retain the god-level melodic mastery that Finnish metal is known for, and use it to reach for the stars, both musically and lyrically (you've got to love a band whose main lyrical concept is "space").They've just dropped a new album (or rather, a "mini album") seemingly out of nowhere, and it's a beaut. Vigilia is a lush, evocative recording, heavily reliant on its somber, synth-accentuated melodies to carry the compositions. The atmospheric quality of the music is balanced out by an aggressive edge, with icy tremolo and flurrying blastbeats sharpening Bathory-esque songs like "Vigilia - I" who could otherwise be accused of succumbing to sheer prettiness. It's a gorgeous album in spite of its undeniable darkness, and can be heard in its entirety on the Cosmic Church Bandcamp page—or right here!