Valient Thorr - Stranger
Bang your heads! Valient Thorr is back with Stranger, their sixth release in seven years, on Volcom Records. No punches are pulled on this album and Valient Thorr further solidifies their role as Heavy Metal revivalists (think Mustaine-era Metallica meets Motorhead) on this balls to the wall masterpiece.
Now, if one is not already a “Thorrior”, there may be some confusion concerning the mythology and origin of these Heavy Metal saviors. At a glance, it’s easy to mistake this band for a gang of musically inclined Hell’s Angels. You see, Valient Thorr is not your ordinary beer and whiskey swilling metal band. No, they hail from planet Venus, and they are here for one reason and one reason only. They are visiting planet earth to point out and correct the foolish ways of modern American man.
Unfortunately, your average American (though a scientific dictatorship of predictive programming) has been reduced to a mindless consumer. Concerned with petty celebrity and a general self-centeredness, Americans have lost touch with everything true and real. Well, Valient Thorr is here to tell you: there’s something thing else.
But be warned. This righteous, no-nonsense delivery will knock your balls clean off. Valient Thorr is the real deal. Often, when a band has a lot of non-musical peripheral signifiers, it’s usually a big distraction from a lack of talent. Not the case here.
Valient Thorr delivers the goods, as some other Metal band once said. Everything is on point. The breakneck drumming, the wicked leads, the vocals – they have it all. There are more than a few stand-outs and it is tough to play favorites with this album, because there is not a bad track on it. Nothing falls flat.
Whether you are into Metal or not, Valient Thorr are definitely worth a listen or two. The social commentary is dead on and it hits hard. Plus, you may learn something about yourself.