Valkyrie – Shadows CD (Relapse)
Dual guitar trade-offs, and a dual vocal approach is very much the dominant factor propelling this Virginia doom/stoner/rock/hippy quartet. Comparisons to Pentagram and early Sabbath immediately spring to mind, but the cutting guitar presence is clearly way more technical than any 70’s luminary. Sure the shouts of Maiden and Thin Lizzy will be easily vocalised, but the batch of songs making ‘Shadows’ leads you down a different dirt track. Here we have seven tracks that will have you reaching for the JD and nonchalantly kicking life’s worries right in the balls. Valkyrie seem to ooze with the sounds of the desert, but meanwhile incorporate the modern world of technology… thus presenting superiority in an over saturated market. ‘Shadows’ is an album that you will play from start to finish as it has the casual groove desired… it has the all-important vibe, and the powerful tones, but most of all it actually has the songs. Mark Freebase