{"id":24188,"date":"2012-11-29T07:19:53","date_gmt":"2012-11-29T12:19:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=24188"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:40:04","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:40:04","slug":"valhalla-deathless-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/valhalla-deathless-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Valhalla | Deathless<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– News Editor \/ Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Valhalla\"Valhalla. Now that\u2019s a very metal band name. And look at that cover art! You just know you\u2019re going to get some epic Viking metal on this CD, or at the very least some blazing power metal. You know, swords and axes and glorious battles in the name of metal, right? Well, as it turns out, that old saying about not judging a book by its cover applies here. This Valhalla \u2013 which features the singer and guitarist of the now-defunct power metal band Zephania \u2013 is a new band out of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and they play a very melodic and keyboard-heavy style of progressive metal.<\/p>\n

With just five songs (most coming in at the five-minute mark), Valhalla\u2019s debut EP Deathless only gives a brief taste of the band\u2019s sound, but it\u2019s strong enough and interesting enough that you\u2019ll want to hear more. This is progressive metal that never gets too self-indulgent, and with a strong melodic aspect and a good balance between the more serene rock moments (see opening track \u201cLive On\u201d) and the heavy, upbeat metal elements of \u201cSelf-Imposed Hell.\u201d Sure, there are hints of the usual Dream Theater and Fates Warning influence, but in this genre that\u2019s unavoidable. With their emphasis on lush keyboards and Logan Detwiler\u2019s prominent and distinct vocals, Valhalla brings to mind bands like Seventh Wonder, the (too) short-lived Vox Tempus and Odin\u2019s Court (another underrated US progressive rock\/metal band). Standouts here are \u201cVortex,\u201d with its wickedly catchy hooks, and the title track, which despite its relatively short length feels like an epic tale set to music.<\/p>\n

It may not make you want to raise your sword and charge into battle, but Deathless was a very pleasant surprise nonetheless. It\u2019s a very solid, very enjoyable progressive metal offering, and it makes an effective introduction to a band that will bear watching in the years to come. If you\u2019re a fan of melodic progressive metal, Valhalla is well worth checking out.<\/p>\n

Genre: Progressive Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nLogan Detwiler (v)
\nPaul Kendall (k)
\nJustin Zych (g)
\nJeremy Harmeyer (b)
\nPatrick DiGangi (d)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tLive On
\n2.\tSelf-Imposed Hell
\n3.\tVortex
\n4.\tRain
\n5.\tDeathless<\/p>\n

Label: Self-released<\/p>\n

Website: www.facebook.com\/myvalhalla<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – News Editor \/ Senior Columnist — Valhalla. Now that\u2019s a very metal band name. And look at that cover art! You just know you\u2019re going to get some epic Viking metal […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[336,1098,334],"class_list":{"0":"post-24188","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-progressive-metal","9":"tag-review"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24188\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}