And so we have yet another Gaulois
metal record, the album in question being
Vallands glorious self titled debut record. A nine track epic there
is a lot to love about an album that fuses death and black metal with
influences of folk, definitely not something you get to hear every
day. Toss in some stellar French lyrics that seek to respect the
bands glorious and battle filled heritage and you're on track to have
a record that is not only unique but also a lot of fun to listen to,
a veritable prothalmion to the glory of the battles and wars of yesteryear.
There are a couple of aspects that
really make this record special for me. The first is the french
lyrics, this gives a certain earthy tone to the music and as I've
said in previous posts, French really is a great language for extreme
music. Another thing I really dig is the variety of folk instruments
used, they add flavor and old school magic to the sound. Last is the
style of riffing, while often very much blackened death metal the
band is not afraid to go with some more bombastic sounds that give
their album a certain gravitas, a sort of folky Gaulois magic that
very few bands can at all emulate. Together these ideas help to make
Valland into a great record.
In
conclusion, if you're looking for a very tight folk metal record that
is not shy in showcasing its pagan elements then this is the album
from you. From a band who seem ready to take the world by storm and
overcome all poserdom with their incredible power and destructive
growls, this is not a band to be taken lightly or ignored, instead
you should weight each riff and search within it for the powerful
truths that Valland communicate in their colossal sound. For those of
you looking to fight with the French on an epic battlefield in the
eternal war against Roman invaders Valland should
be a very appealing record.
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