(Band Spotlight) VILT

VILT is one of those rare bands that hit you hard from the first listen. I first came across them with the release of their single Heart of Gold in 2023. That track hasn’t left me since. Once the 02:35 mark hits and that solo and melody drop in, I still get goosebumps. That is the mark of a truly evocative song.

Based in Linköping, Sweden, they have been active since 2016. Although they released a demo in 2018, their first fully produced single did not arrive until 2021. Since then they have released nine singles and two EPs. That strategy seems deliberate, staying visible in a crowded field, building track by track rather than trying to release a full album straightaway.

Many newer bands are doing something similar. Rather than waiting to release a full album, they release frequent singles to keep momentum, stay relevant to streaming platforms, and engage listeners regularly. That seems to be what VILT is doing. But I want to see them channel all that momentum into one cohesive full-length album.

In terms of sound, VILT fits right into the Gothenburg school of melodic death metal. Think early In Flames, At The Gates, and Dark Tranquillity, but with their own twist. They are not trying to mimic the greats. They are drawing from them and building something that feels urgent and current. There is no filler. Every track is crafted to hit hard and leave a mark.

Lyrically, their songs deal with grief, self-doubt, personal reckoning, and the darker edges of human emotion, all without losing their melodic core. It is that contrast, that tension between chaos and clarity, that makes their music so captivating. It is not just aggressive. It is thoughtful, vulnerable, and unafraid to expose the raw underside of what it means to be alive.

A band like VILT is everything I love about heavy metal. The raw emotion. The speed. The technical ability. The phenomenal melodic and rhythmic guitars. And then there are those midsong melodies, those fricking solos, that pull it all together. This is the five-song punch I would throw to make the case:

1. Heart of Gold

2. Crown of Thorns

3. Dealing With the Devil

4. Enslaved

5. The New Shadow

Their latest release, The New Shadow, came out in July, and its solo is out of this world.

VILT isn’t just adding to the noise. They are building something with real weight. Every release feels like a move forward. If you want metal that actually cuts deep, this is it.