Album Reviews : Valient Thorr – Immortalizer

Valient Thorr need a new vocalist. That thought instantly popped into my mind on my first listen, and I still stand by it. Musically, they are fantastic, and really have a classic, old school feel to them. But Valient’s vocals just ruin it. He doesn’t sing or have any real melody, instead just yelling over the top, which is fine if you have a voice like Motörhead’s Lemmy, but not when you’ve got a weak, perfectly clean voice like this guy. Usually I would just ignore it and focus on the music when listening to it, but they just irritate me too much to do that.

Like I said, Valient Thorr are old school. They mix classic rock tunes like that of AC/DC with the heavier, biker-bar feel of Motörhead. And there’s the occasional metal riff and country-rock guitar thrown in too. It’s great to hear a modern band really capture that classic feel, they’ve done an impeccable job in that respect. But the vocals don’t suit that style at all, the band need someone rougher that sounds like they actually have balls.

There’s not a bad track on the album, each is as solid and well written as the next, but there are a few definite highlights. “Parable Of Daedalus” is a simple but catchy classic rock song, sounding like Airbourne with a bit of a modern-rock edge to it. But again, the vocals ruin it a bit. “Vernal Equinox” is a short acoustic country interlude, which they should have made into a full song because it’s a very enjoyable one. “Mask Of Sanity” has great sing-a-long potential with its damn catchy chorus and “No Holds Barred” has the dirtyness and speed of a Motörhead track with an injection of classic heavy metal. There are also some great guitar solos spread throughout.

Being straight-forward hard rock, the music isn’t overly complicated but that’s not a bad thing. The simplicity makes it even more enjoyable because it means a lot of these songs would be great to air-guitar along to after a few beers at a party. If you’re a classic/hard rock fan, then have a listen and go past the annoying vocals. Keep and eye on the band and hope that they’re singer is not a long term member, I know that’s what I’ll be doing. 6.5/10 (+2 if this damn singer wasn’t present)

For fans of: AC/DC, Motörhead, Down River, pub rock in general.

Band: Valient Thorr
Album: Immortalizer
Year: 2008
Genre: Hard Rock
Label: Volcom Entertainment
Origin: USA
www.myspace.com/valientthorr

Track listing:
1. I Hope the Ghosts of the Dead Haunt Yr Soul Forever
2. Infinite Lives
3. Mask of Sanity
4. Tomorrow Police
5. No Holds Barred <- Reviewers choice
6. Parable of Daedalus
7. Birdhead Looking @ Goldenhands
8. Vernal Equinox
9. 1000 Winters in a Row
10. Red Flag
11. Nomadic Sacrifice
12. Steeplechase
13. Tackle the Walrus