Who is Valkyrie you ask? Well, to be honest I asked the same
exact question just this year upon seeing the promo tease offered up by Relapse
Records over at Bandcamp for their new album. ‘Shadows’ is actually their third full length album and debut on
Relapse mated with other clutch bands such as Red Fang, Torche, ASG and Royal
Thunder just to name a few. Apparently I’ve been sleeping under a rock having
just found out about Valkyrie, but like the ancient Norse lore goes, the
Valkyrie chose another day of life for me to listen to their astonishing new album
‘Shadows’. Will I survive the
auditory battle, read on to find out?
Being late to the game, I’ll recap a brief history of the
band. Undergoing several line-up changes between their formation in 2002 and
their current state, Valkyrie consist of brothers Pete and Jake Adams (guitars
and vocals), Alan Fary (Bass) and Warren Hawkins (drums). Pete Adams is also a
guitarist in the legendary sludge band Baroness (take that at face value),
which you can hear traces of in the guitar tone in Valkyrie. According to the
diehard fans, the new album ‘Shadows’ was somewhat of a pleasant surprise as
comments I read from fans ranged from:
Ø
“I’ve been
dreaming of this day since the day I was born, I’m 57 years old…”-some old
dude,
Ø
“If I die
tomorrow, please bury me in the shadow of Valkyrie - Shadows,” – born again Christian mistress
Ø
“Listening
to the song ‘Shadow of Reality’ cured me of cancer and my wife now understands
my addiction to vinyl”…. –the man,
the myth.
Ya, it’s that good folks. There is probably even memes on the internet describing the
potency of Valkyrie?
My first impression of the band was to the point where I
pre-ordered the vinyl after only a 2 song preview and a glimpse of the
extraordinary artwork on display. As has been voiced in the heavy underground
quite a bit lately, the artwork is a major factor in the success of rock music
in the digital age. The appearance of vinyl also adds intimate value to the
musical experience. Both the art and the vinyl options visible on pre-order
left me no choice but to take a listen. What happened next I wasn’t quite ready
for? Neither was my wallet. However, Mark
Paypal sure made out well. You may know him too, maybe not.
I was hearing
elements of several of my favorite styles of rock and metal in this band.
Relatively long songs 5-7 minute territory, which is actually the prime length
of a modern rock song for my taste, jam packed full of doomy vocals, stoney
rhythm, and a hefty amount of dueling guitar solos. In fact, those twin guitar
chops were the icing on the cake and one element that pretty much tops this
band off as one of my favorites of the year. I am a sucker for a mean double
guitar harmony. Instead of making the Thin
Lizzy comparison, which is obvious and present, I’ll go with the more
obscure nod to a couple modern bands I adore being Gyspyhawk with a little bit of Graviators
thrown in for Sabbath worship measure. The guitar slinging goes from fuzzy
distorted groove, to a ceremoniously metallic crusade of classic rock
reverence. Just when you think the songs couldn’t get any better, another
magical twist of chords enthralls the senses to a new level. Each of the 7
songs has its own unique blend of stoner fuzz, battleborn proto-doom, and
classic guitar shreddage. It pays homage to the classics such as Lizzy, Deep
Purple and Sabbath yet keeping a modern progression at the forefront
distinguishing them as a modern and future classic band.
I’d say what sets ‘Shadows’ above some of the other standout
albums released this year is their ability to keep the songs alive with
several added jams of guitar solos interspersed throughout random parts of each
song. I’m not a musical expert, but the format seems rather nontraditional in
the sense of songwriting. It’s not your typical verse, chorus, verse, bridge,
chorus type affair. It’s got wicked introductions with an energetic vocal
offering, which by the way, won’t be winning any Grammys for Best Vocal Performance (meant as a compliment), followed by progressive
stoner jams that sort of create a building current of excitement that prevents
you from knowing exactly what is coming next. It keeps you on the edge of your
earbuds as I like to say.
The songs flow really well and based on the song titles, I
have to imagine it’s somewhat of a concept album. Forgive me for not being
musically smart enough to decipher and explain the potential concept, probably
more that I am just too lazy and just let myself get lost too deep in the
instrumentation to pay too much attention to the lyrical theme at hand. I’m a
guitar guy and Valkyrie is the riff dealer in the neighborhood. Just listen for
yourself and you’ll understand.
After listening to ‘Shadows’ close to a dozen times, I
finally decided I should probably check out their back catalog, which is
completely sold out of vinyl (sign of a good band), has re-issue CDs available
via All
That is Heavy (sign of a good band), has a few songs streaming on bandcamp
and new vinyl available at the Relapse
Records store (sign of a good band). To no surprise the two previous albums
were jam packed full of the same style of herculiffic melodies, scorching solos
and Ozzy-esque bellows. You can definitely hear the positive progression from
release to release hitting a climax with ‘Shadows’. I bought two vinyl copies
of the bone white / bronze merge vinyl edition, one for me and one for a
friend. Copies still available, get them while the getting’s good folks.
Valkyrie will surely be one of the most talked about albums this summer and
into the end of the year listings. I know they certainly will be on my
list.
Order the Record at various outlets either linked above or
below here:
-The Huntsman
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