It's taken them 7 years, but Virginia's own Valkyrie are finally back with a new platter of twin guitar fueled Southern hard rock & doom, titled Shadows. Of course, most probably know guitarist Pete Adams more from his other act Baroness, but here, along with guitarist Jake Adams, bassist Alan Fary, and drummer Warren Hawkins, the band instead conjure up images of Thin Lizzy, Pentagram, Saint Vitus, Wishbone Ash, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and other more recent groups such as Vintage Caravan, Horisont, Graveyard, and Witchcraft.
Fromt start to finish, Shadows is filled with plenty of tasty harmony guitar leads, effective riffing, solid vocals, memorable hooks, and intense grooves. "Golden Age" is a real driving song, with a melody that sticks in your head and a wealth of sizzling guitar solos, while "Mountain Stomp" gallops along like a bastard child from the union of Thin Lizzy & Iron Maiden. The weaving guitar lines of both Adams' on the majestic "Temple" recalls those first few classic Wishbone Ash albums from the early '70s, and "Shadow of Reality" brings forth the Southern swampy doom, as massive riffs and whisky soaked vocals set the stage for some air guitar delight. A similar feel continues on "Wintry Plains", where lumbering riffs meet crashing rhythms and layers of wah-wah, somewhat like a head on collision of vintage Black Sabbath and the early psychedelic leanings of Monster Magnet. Groove laden Southern fried doom and more of those sizzling harmony guitars pop up on "Echoes (Of The Way We Lived)", and Shadows closes with the emotional yet lumbering "Carry On", a real heavy piece with some chilling effects laden vocals and monstrous riffs.
Honestly, for my money, I'd listen to Valkyrie over Baroness any day, so hopefully these guys won't take another seven year break from delivering high quality music like this. Vintage hard rock & doom fans will absolutely need to hear this one.
Track Listing
1) Mountain Stomp
2) Golden Age
3) Temple
4) Shadow of Reality
5) Wintry Plains
6) Echoes (Of The Way We Lived)
7) Carry On
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