Valient Thorr Stranger

[ 5,336 views ]

Reviewed by: Joshua   //   Published: 10/22/2010

Valient Thorr is one kickass band. Their combination of old school Motley Crue and older school Motorhead, blended with jazzy time shifts, rip roaring guitars, and an overall cock-rock demeanor, sans the glam, has been a refreshing reinvigoration of rock n' fucking roll. Stranger, their fifth album in seven years, was built to be another big release for the Chapel Hill crew, and catapult them to huge headliner status. But maybe they should have taken a little more time with this one.

While the band jams on inverted fifths at a quick clip, frontman Valient Himself continues to rage about the frailties of the human race, whether it be their everyday indulgences, their hopes and fears, or their eventual evolution into a stronger species. This is all heady stuff and it should be since the singer was once a college professor, but none of the above makes me want to throw my fist out the car window and punch the sky.

I don't know about you, but I like my rock n' roll with heaping sides of both sex and drugs. These urges can sometimes be distilled by tales of angst, loss, space and dungeons and/or dragons, but waxing philosophical, existential, and sociological just isn't that high on the totem pole. To my disdain that is precisely what Valient Thorr is, was, and apparently always will be, about.

I can deal with clunker lyrics like "It's human weakness, there really is no reason why," as long as the song has a good hook, or some kind of hook at all. On the track "Sleeper Awakes" it works, because the gang vocal chorus lends to the punked up pace. But on the almost identical refrain of "Habituary," the sing-along falls flat. But I'll take any refrain over constant meandering from one forgettable riff to another, as on "Double Crossed."

There are some standouts on Stranger though. "Disappear" throws out some random rhythm changes and crazy drumming that keeps the listener confused, but attentive. "Sudden Death Is Nothing" sounds exactly like a Seasons-era Slayer B-side with either Mike Muir or Hank Hell on vocals. And the echoey Arabian guitar solo on "Night Terrors" is simply outstanding and shows how versatile and inventive these musicians can be.

Bottom Line: Considering all the energy this band has and the fervor with which they perform, it makes the educational aspect all the more annoying. I'm up for learning a little something with my music, but that's why I listen to Nile. With Valient Thorr it's like bringing a teacher to a kegger.

Tweet