EPK – Aittala – Ill-Gotten Gains (2025) (Exitus Stratagem Records)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
“‘Ill-Gotten Gains is an EP of 5 brand new Aittala songs, each having its own feel but bound together by the unique Aittala sound that sets them apart from their contemporaries.”
For fans of Mastodon, Eyehate God, Baroness, Crowbar, Katatonia
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EP =pre-save – https://hypeddit.com/aittala/illgottengains
Single – Isolation – pre-save – https://hypeddit.com/aittala/isolation
Band Name: Aittala
Release Title: Ill-Gotten Gains
Label: Exitus Stratagem Records
Release Date: November 21, 2025
Genre Description: Eclectic Doom
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
“Bookended by “Machines (Prologue)” and “Machines (Epilogue)”, the album’s structure feels like a full-circle journey. One that captures the essence of the band’s evolution. The blend of storytelling and heavy music makes it clear why these tracks were worth bringing back. With Machines, Aittala doesn’t just revisit the past. They make it hit harder than ever.” – Amplify The Noise (2025 – Machines EP)
“Captivatingly versatile, genre-connecting with plenty of attitude. An intensely powerful and emotionally captivating Electric Doom/Heavy/Power HouseTrip that is excellent at combining expansive melodies and atmospheric melancholic heavy touch. 8/10” – FFM-Rock (2025 – Machines EP)
“A pure blast of good tunes flying around for life. A retro llike cover artwork, it matches it all. The atmosphere and the old tunes still ringing after so many years like it was yesterday. A very good album to own with pleasure. Aittala is here to stay, get your dose of good tunes 100/100.” – The Metal Mag (2025 – Machines EP)
“Eric Aittala is obviously nostalgic on ‘Machines’. But that in no way means that the sound is frozen in the past. On the contrary, the production is modern and powerful. The individual songs are thus transferred to the here and now. A good album, even if the band is ‘only’ a duo.” – Metalheads Forever Magazine (2025 – Machines EP)
[Download EP Cover | Download EP Lyrics]
Track Listing:
1. Isolation – 4:22
2. Ill Gotten Gains – 4:20
3. Black Listed – 3:35
4. Ever After – 4:29
5. Ashes – 3:50
EP Length: 20:37
EP Recording Credits:
• All songs performed by: Aittala
• All songs written by: Aittala
• Produced by: Eric W Aittala and John E Woothen IV
• Mixed by: John E. Woothen IV
• Mastered by: Steven Raets at Sonark Media
• Album Artwork by: Sentient Gateway
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About the EP Artwork:
The album artwork is an updated interpretation of our mascot Frank, which is a cartoon pig head in a pentagram created back in 2014 based on the song ‘Pigs’ from the album ‘Effigy’ (2014).
Frank is the kind of guy who helps acquire ‘Ill-Gotten Gains’ with no questions if you have the cash.
About the album as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
As with all Aittala releases, listeners will hear genre lines blurred using influences of traditional metal, doom, groove, and others to create a cohesive musical experience.
Lyrically, the songs explore themes of creating chaos for personal gain, the consequences for those actions, and the search for redemption.
Track by Track (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
1. Isolation: A doomy track with the heavy guitars complemented by clean guitars and a time signature change, about paying the consequences for decisions that have been made.
2. Ill-Gotten Gains: The songs start with a powerful bouncing 8-string guitar riff that carries the song to the transition to a doomy interlude and conclusion. The lyrics are about creating chaos and exploiting those situations for personal gain.
3. Blacklisted: A groove/sludge-inspired song that is basically the counter to ‘Isolation’ and ‘Ill-Gotten Gains’; seeing through those types of people described in those 2 songs.
4. Ever After: A modern-day metal ‘ballad’ about internal conflict and the search for redemption that may not be there.
5. Ashes: A more traditional heavy metal track with lyrics about someone getting in over their head and dragging others down on the descent.
AITTALA Lineup – Gary ‘Smith’ Zeus (Drums), Eric Aittala (Guitar/Vox)
The music of AITTALA (pronounced ‘EYE-tah-la’) crosses many metal genres; it’s hard to put it into just one category. The sound infuses elements of classic heavy metal, doom, progressive, power, thrash, and hard rock with lyrics drawing inspiration from the darker side of the human condition. The AITTALA sound has been cited for being unique, which is no easy feat in the metal genre.
The first incarnation of AITTALA was formed in 1991 while Eric was living in the Netherlands. With fellow American Tim on vocals and Dutch bandmates Ed (drums) and Jon (bass), the band became a staple of the Dutch metal scene.
With the release of the 3-song EP ‘Selling Heaven’ in the summer of 1993, AITTALA opened for such bands as THE GATHERING and SADIST.
Unfortunately, as the demo started to create a buzz in the underground European metal scene, Eric had to return to the US and disbanded AITTALA.
In 2008, the time was right to resurrect AITTALA. From 2009 to 2022, AITTALA released 6 full-length albums: ‘Bed of Thorns’ (2009), ‘Haunt Your Flesh’ (2011), ‘Effigy’ (2014), ‘American Nightmare’ (2016), ‘False Pretenses’ (2019), ‘Live to Regret (2022) & Machines (EP 2025).
Each release showcases a natural progression of songwriting and lyrical content but retaining the core AITTALA sound and evolving it.
The current lineup of AITTALA consists of Eric Aittala on guitars/vocals and Gary ‘Zeus’ Smith (THE FIFTH, ex-MR BLACKWELL) on drums. They continue to write, record and tour to bring AITTALA to the masses.
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