Labels: Tension Head
Review by: Alex Deller
A song each from two bands taking their metal in two very different directions. First up are Valkyrie, who I’ve heard nothing from since their excellent ‘Man Of Two Visions’ LP. Their lengthy cut follows nicely on from that despite all the years inbetween, a classic metal stomper that straddles the line between bluesy trad doom (Sabbath, Pentagram, Kadavar etc.) and the boisterous, upbeat 80s metal of Maiden or Manowar. Guitars twiddle and twine, vocals soar and the whole thing’s so impeccably put together that you just know these guys are absolutely in love with what they’re doing. Fantastic stuff. Earthling are an altogether heavier proposition, splicing all manner of metallic influences together in a manner that doesn’t quite knit like I’d ideally want it to. You get blackened clamours, the occasional whiff of Kreator and the overriding vibe that they were maybe once a sludge band who began dabbling in oily death metal waters. As with the material on their recent LP for Forcefield it’s hard to actively dislike but similarly hard to love: neatly-hewn and packed with riffs but without the added magic to keep drawing you back. Shame, but just means Valkyrie end up with even more airtime.