by Geno Thackara
Jake and Pete Adams are the kind of guys who know how to learn from the past without living in it. There was simply hard rock and metal before things split into doom, death, thrash and more other shades than most of us can keep track of. The Virginia brothers’ band Valkyrie doesn’t mind borrowing from those as the mood hits, but they’re most rooted in that fine classic tradition of loud drums and twin axes. If you’ve long since memorized every scrap of Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath in your library and want something fresh to scratch a similar itch, their new release Shadows is the answer you might not have known you were waiting for.
It’s the band’s first album since Man of Two Visions from the distant days of 2008. Jake Adams explains that they never really went away in the meantime but only slowed down a little. “We have been active as a band the entire time,” he says. “We always play shows. Shadows has been in the works since the last album was finished, but my personal life has been very busy. Since then I have had two children and also started on a teaching career. Pete joined Baroness since then and so he has been gone doing stuff with them.”
Apparently being in two bands makes a good deal for the other Adams, who enjoys the benefit of running free in a different context before coming back to the family. Jake explains, “Baroness is ultimately the more experimental and modern band, while Valkyrie is a bit more traditional-sounding. Baroness brings indie and punk influences… so in many ways Valkyrie is a nice break for Pete.”
The band hasn’t suffered from taking it a little slow – if anything, they’re coming back recharged. “We recorded this in four days and so it retains the rawness of that experience for sure,” Adams offers. “Pete has been more involved with the writing on this one, and many of the riffs were written by us together. I often write fairly simple structures and Pete helps make the songs more dynamic and interesting by adding harmonies or suggesting changes. All of us have input as to the overall feel of a song and it is a joint process.” He adds that they’re also open to drawing on all kinds of elements – besides the obvious early-metal references, “Wishbone Ash, Deep Purple and Jethro Tull are influences that also come to mind.”
It all makes a heavy slice of rock that could still satisfy your stereotypical middle-aged curmudgeon who grumbles that it’s all been downhill since 1973. Shadows even sticks to classic LP length at a solid 42 minutes. If its cover suggests something violent to fit the band’s name, it’s actually positive underneath. Adams clarifies, “The artwork is a red-tailed hawk being attacked by crows, a sight we have all seen in the area we are from. The crows represent the shadows in our lives that we have to struggle against.”
Valkyrie hopes the next album won’t take nearly so long to finish, but for the immediate future they’ll be more busy with a short (and long-overdue) release tour. If you want to satisfy your inner old-school headbanger for a night, come out to Kung Fu Necktie tomorrow night (May 29th) and they’ll provide just the right fix.
