AITTALA (pronounced EYE-tah-la) have released the official performance video for “Blacklisted”, the third track from their second 2025 EP, Ill-Gotten Gains , out now via Exitus Stratagem Records .
The music video marks a milestone for the long-running metal project. It’s the first video to feature new bassist Dane Taylor , alongside Eric Aittala (guitars/vocals) and Gary “Zeus” Smith (drums). The trio’s chemistry is in full bloom, delivering a tight, groove-driven performance that captures the vigor and weight of the track.
A groove- and sludge-inspired song, the standout “Blacklisted” works as a thematic counterpoint to the EP’s opening tracks, “Isolation” and “Ill‑Gotten Gains”. While those songs explore the chaos created by selfish acts, “Blacklisted” flips the perspective, calling out the people who manipulate, exploit and leave destruction in their wake.
Musically, the song is built on thick riffs, a strong mid-tempo pulse and the band’s signature blend of heaviness and melody. It’s a concise, punishing statement that reinforces why AITTALA’s sound remains hard to categorize and impossible to ignore.
Watch the video from its premiere at Metal Addicts here:
Released last November, Ill‑Gotten Gains continues AITTALA’s tradition of blurring metal’s subgenres, drawing on traditional metal, doom, groove, progressive elements and more to create a cohesive, emotionally charged experience.
The EP’s lyrics trace a path from chaos to consequences to the search for redemption, examining how people create disorder for personal gain, face the consequences of those choices and grapple with whether forgiveness is still possible. Each track sharpens that arc: “Isolation” offers depressive heaviness and shifting time signatures as it confronts the consequences. Ill‑Gotten Gains harnesses a bouncy eight-string riff into the mindset of exploiting chaos. “Blacklisted” uses groove-sludge ground to denounce manipulative behavior. “Ever After” offers a modern metal ballad of inner struggle and uncertain redemption. and “Ashes” leans toward traditional heavy metal as it follows someone spiraling downward and dragging others down with them.
The EP cover features a refreshed version of Frank , AITTALA’s long-time mascot, a cartoon pig’s head on a musical staff, created in 2014 for the album Effigy . Frank represents the shady figure who helps secure “ill-gotten gains”… for the right price. His return to the cover ties directly to the EP’s themes of corruption, consequences and moral decay.
AITTALA’s sound resists simple labels, combining classic heavy metal, doom, groove, progressive and power metal, thrash and hard rock into a style that is distinctly their own. Lyrically, Eric Aittala draws inspiration from the darkest edges of the human experience, creating songs that balance heaviness with introspection.
Founded in 1991 in the Netherlands, AITTALA quickly became a staple of the Dutch metal scene, even opening shows for THE GATHERING and SADIST after the release of their 1993 EP Selling Heaven .
After the project broke up and was revived in 2008, AITTALA released six full-length albums between 2009 and 2022, followed by the EP Machines (2025). Each release showcases the band’s evolution while maintaining their unmistakable core sound.
Recommended for fans of MASTODON , EYEHATEGOD , BARONESS , CROWBAR , KATATONIA . Fans of live music can catch AITTALA on the following show dates.
Aittala tour dates (WV, VA, TN, NC)
May 21 – Tilty McFlipperz – Martinsburg, WV
May 22 – The Spot on Kirk – Roanoke, VA
May 23 – Capones – Johnson City, TN
June 19 – Cannonball Music Hall – Raleigh, NC
July 31 – The Den | Winston – Salem, NC
August 7 – White Rabbit Pub – Fayetteville, NC
August 29 – Scandals Live – Virginia Beach, VA
Ill-Gotten Gains (released November 21, 2025) is available from Exitus Stratagem Records here .
Tracklist from Ill-Gotten Gains :
- Isolation – 4:22
- Ill Gotten Gains – 4:20
- Black Listed – 3:35
- Ever After – 4:29
Live lineup:
Eric Aittala – Guitars/Vocals
Gary “Zeus” Smith – Drums
Dane Taylor – Bass
