Hailing from Finland, Venia boasts strong female lead vocals and an exciting melodic/metal style. This young act's newest release is a five song EP that, while lacking in some polish, does a good job of showcasing what makes Venia stand out.
In Our Weakness is a mixed bag of impressive aspects of the band and others that need further development. The band is nearly fantastic at times; "The Path" applies thrash and screaming to their core style to great effect, and "Illusion," while too simplistic lyrically, features a powerful melody and guitar work. The violin in "No More" feels drowned out by the thundering guitars and thus fails to capture and further express the emotion of the song; tied with the overly simple lyrics, "No More" ends the record as an unfortunate weak spot.
In Our Weakness proves that Venia has what it takes to be a good metal band, even if they are still a bit rough around the edges at this point. A broader, deeper lyrical palette and tightening of certain musical flourishes applied in select songs in future releases should improve the band to something genuinely good.
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