Coming from the traditional rock city of Tampere, VERTA is a gothic rock/metal band blending atmospheric guitars, ethereal keyboards, and occasional thunderous riffs to create a heavy soundscape rooted in deep melancholy.
Their debut album, Cult of One, showcases a range of tracks from emotional pieces to powerful rock songs, reflecting their ability to balance serenity and chaos and leaving a lasting impression on all who venture into their darkly enchanting world.
VERTA was originally founded as a dark-pop duo by singer/guitarist Miikka and his wife singer/keyboardist Hanna in 2018. The band was known then as Les Miserables and their first ep was released in 2019. During the next 3 years Les Miserables released two full-length albums
Love You Mad (2020) and The Puzzle (2022). While writing and recording The Puzzle in a villa near Siena, they decided to apply for an artist career counseling program organized by Rytmi-instituutti.
After being accepted to the counseling program, the couple returned back to Finland and decided to settle in Tampere to gather new members for a full band. Samuli soon joined as a bassist and the trio begun rehearsing and writing new material while testing out for drummers.
Almost a year was spent rehearsing, writing and attending counseling from some notable finnish music figures (Jonas Olsson, Riku Pääkkönen, Marja Kokko and many others).
During late 2022 Les Miserables officially changed their name to VERTA (meaning blood in finnish) and released 'Lovelock EP' in spring 2023. Embracing a heavier sound with more metal elements, Lovelock EP was received favourably among fans. In the wake of it's release, after multiple drummer tryouts, Mikael joined the band and their first full line-up was completed:
Miikka - Guitars, vocals
Hanna - Keyboards, vocals
Samuli - Bass
Mikael - Drums
During 2023 VERTA gigged, rehearsed, and released a single 'Rules of This Place' along with a cover of Misfits's Helena. Writing and recording for their first full length album Cult of One started in early 2024. After 6 months of working with the album, it was finally released on 8th of November.