Valient Thorr – Stranger
Valient Thorr drive a custom airbrushed van down the well-paved road of ’70s hard rock/heavy metal revivalism. They wear biker beards and sleeveless denim vests, have ridiculous stage names and their bio claims they’re from the planet Venus. It’s all very ironic and self-aware. Imagine Zakk Wylde being in on his own joke.
Thankfully, the gag doesn’t extend to the lyrics, which mostly to avoid the more obvious stoner rock sci-fi/fantasy/horror clichés and instead address themes of anxiety and materialism. Valient Himself is a capable singer, and the band is just fine, but it just feels a little generic — like those heavy metal albums Dave Ghrol records whenever he wakes up in the middle of the night and thinks about the Foo Fighters for too long.
They’re supposed to be a great live band. But this album just seems like another piece of merch to sell on tour before they get around to recording the next one. If you grew up on Guitar Hero and just want something that “rocks,” you could do worse, but I’d suggest downloading the first disc of Rhino’s Heavy Metal box set instead.
One Response to “Valient Thorr – Stranger”
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On 09/20/10 5:57 PM, xfreekx said:
They ARE great live! Amazing…I’ll go see them every time they’re in town.
And…
The albums are TOTALLY boring.
Photos: Monotonix at Fun Fun Fun Fest
Photos: Valient Thorr at Fun Fun Fun Fest
Photos: Danielson, Welcome Wagon at The 930 Listening Room
Photos: Low at Headliners
Photos: Descendents at Fun Fun Fun Fest