Introducing: Velev Ki

Velev Ki are on a mission to put Turkish metal on the map. The quintet live up to their claim of being “Turkey’s first modern metal band” with an intense metalcore sound that blends heavy and melodic guitars with powerful vocals and groovy elements, which they describe as “sorrow, aggression and expansive.”

The Istanbul collective started out as a nu-rap/nu-core trio back in 2018, but changed things up dramatically earlier this year. They expanded the lineup to consist of Ilgaz Zabunoğlu (vocals), Mustafa “Rincorpse” İleri (vocals and guitar), Ali Yasavul (guitar), Efe Bayramoğlu (bass) and Derin Okur (drums), while shifting their musical direction to a much heavier sound.

As the band explains: “We’ve truly found our identity in modern metal/metalcore, and we’re continuing our journey with a much stronger sense of dedication and seriousness. Our sound is mostly ambient, cinematic yet aggressive enough to move people in the pit.”

Our latest taste of this is Closure, which comes from the band’s EP Sinking Deeper, released at the end of October. It opens up with delicious dual guitars that drop into a dreamy first verse, which gradually builds in intensity led by high-pitched vocals. A big drum roll tees up a powerful chorus with screamed retorts, “Take my hand and never leave my side ever again, We’ll find our purpose in this nightmare, Closure! I’ll never lose myself over again, The mistakes we’ve made are all but faded.” The intensity ramps up a notch or ten with crushing guitars and screamed vocals ending with a guttural scream and bouncy guitars that flow into another huge chorus. Dreamy synths and bouncy guitars take over, before fading away to an end.

There’s plenty more where that came from on the EP, including the powerful Angel Wings, Break Free, which includes a delicious guitar solo setting up a heavy outro, and the hard-hitting final track Sinking Deeper.

On the EP, the band told us: “Right now, the songs that stand out the most are Sinking Deeper and Angel Wings, but Closure is definitely one of our personal favourites. For anyone who hasn’t heard it yet, you can expect an ambient atmosphere, technical guitars, huge clean vocals alongside aggressive extreme vocals. What hits us the most about this track is how the heavy breakdown somehow ends up sounding genuinely sorrowful. That contrast is what makes Closure so special for us.”

The Velev Ki sound draws on the members’ wide range of individual inspirations and they avoid trying to write music with specific references in mind. That said, they share a common love for bands like Currents, Northlane and Invent Animate.

And on what inspires them to write music, they explain: “We don’t stick to a specific theme, so it usually changes from project to project. However, we tend to write about our lived experiences, and that’s what makes our songs feel real to us.”

Going back to that claim in the intro, we’ve only previously covered two Turkish metal bands, Cosmic Cold War and Alkera, so we asked the band for their thoughts on their local scene. “When we say we are ‘Turkey’s first modern metal band,’ it’s really about how we personally interpret modern metal and the direction we’re trying to carve out. But we would never take anything away from the other bands who paved the way. Turkey’s metal scene has actually been active for decades and is still massively underrated.

“In recent years, we’ve seen a handful of Turkish bands embracing core-driven sounds with real dedication. We genuinely love and follow Echoes Within and You May Kiss The Bride, huge shoutout to our friends doing great things.

“If there is one challenge in the Turkish scene, it’s that bands, labels, and promoters don’t always support each other as much as they could. And that’s a shame, because Turkey has some real gems creating incredible music completely independently. But if you’re a metalhead, Turkey absolutely has a place for you. There are so many people here ready to welcome you into the pit and headbang right next to you.”

Velev Ki are currently busy tightening up their live show and establishing a stronger presence on social media. They plan to release a couple of singles and potentially a new EP next year, ahead of playing as many gigs as possible – both in Turkey and beyond.

You can follow Velev Ki on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.