As one might expect from a heavy rock band called Valkyrie, hailing from Virginia no less, these guys seem to be fixated on the idea that the 1980s never truly left us. The band actually formed way back when in 2002, and since then have released multiple albums, although not quite as many as one would expect in so long, but all of which have lead us here, to 2015s release Shadows.
Right from the intro to ‘Mountain Stomp’ you get an immediate feel of what these guys are like; massive, sludgy hard rock riffs, occasionally interspersed with slower doom moments and dual-guitar lead sections that are a very obvious wink at the early forms of heavy metal. Proof that you don’t have to be doing something brand new for it to be compelling listening. ‘Wintry Plains’, originally written by the band over a decade ago in their formative years, now re-recorded, could well have been taken off an early Black Sabbath record, with the slower, gritty main riff and almost ethereal vocal layering over the top of it.
It is in a way good for the band that they have such strong riffs, as without them they wouldn’t really have that much to distinguish themselves. The vocal performance is solid, although maybe that is said from a perspective of someone who never really got to experience classic hard rock and heavy metal all those years ago. Nonetheless, the singing feels more like a backdrop to the rest of the band, rather than being in the limelight, and letting the sterling instrumental work take more of the listener’s attention more of the time, which is by no means a bad way for this band to go about their work.
Overall this album is about as solid as The Hulk’s femur, and probably just as heavy. If you enjoy your rock heavy, old-school, and with some of the biggest riffs going around then you can’t really go wrong with this album.
