By Andrew Bansal
North Carolina metal road dogs Valient Thorr have built up a cult following over the past 12 years of their existence, through sheer hard work, whether it be in the form of non-stop touring or working on one studio album after another. This prolific outfit has already toured with the likes of Motörhead, Mastodon and many others, presenting their unique brand of punk-laden Southern metal to masses around the world, and this year they released their sixth studio album ‘Our Own Masters’. On previous albums, Valient Thorr wrote plenty of material that won them fans, but their entire musical persona has reached a whole new level on this album. Richer and more diverse than any of their past creations, this 42-minute offering treats the listener with tunes that vary hugely from each other but at the same time adhere to a common theme, lyrically and musically. There is clearly a greater focus on melody in Valient Himself’s enchanting vocal delivery and in the guitar work of Eidan and Sadat Thorr. Valient Himself has come up with his best lyrics, fun-filled all the way through but with strong political messages in many instances. From ‘Immaculate Consumption’, ‘No Strings Attached’, ‘Torn Apart’ and ‘Good News Bad News’ through to ‘Call Off The Dogs’, the album is an incredibly curvy journey of shifting tempos and musical styles, all wrapped under an envelope Valient Thorr admirers can identify with. Valient Thorr’s ‘Our Own Masters’ is heavy metal, punk, melody and fun all blended together into one, and is basically impossible to dislike.
Track Listing:
1. Immaculate Consumption
2. Master Collider
3. Manipulation
4. No Strings Attached
5. Life Hands You Demons
6. Torn Apart
7. Cerberus
8. Good News Bad News
9. Insatiable
10.Crowd Pleaser
11.Nervous Energy
12.Call Off the Dogs
Duration: 42.1 minutes
Visit Valient Thorr on the web:
ValientThorr.com
facebook.com/ValientThorr
twitter.com/ValientThorr
instagram.com/Valient_Himself
The countdown so far …
#50. Nails – Abandon All Life
#49. American Sharks – Self-Titled
#48. Hatebreed – The Divinity Of Purpose
#47. Helen Money – Arriving Angels
#46. Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats – Mind Control
#45. Ihsahn – Das Seelenbrechen
#44. Church Of Misery – Thy Kingdom Scum
#43. Wolvserpent – Perigaea Antahkarana
#42. Djinn And Miskatonic – Forever In The Realm
#41. Czar – No One Is Alone If No One Is Alive
#40. Against The Grain – Surrounded By Snakes
#39. Nekrofilth – Devil’s Breath
#38. Kylesa – Ultraviolet
#37. The Devil’s Blood – III: Tabula Rasa or Death and the Seven Pillars
#36. Kadavar – Abra Kadavar
#35. Purson – The Circle And The Blue Door
#34. Carousel – Jeweler’s Daughter
#33. Kvelertak – Meir
#32. SpiralArms – Freedom
#31. Satan – Life Sentence
#30. Exhumed – Necrocracy
#29. Havok – Unnatural Selection
#28. Mothership – Self-Titled
#27. UDO – Steelhammer
#26. Ramming Speed – Doomed To Destroy, Destined To Die
#25. Revocation – Self-Titled
#24. Gorguts – Colored Sands
#23. Kobra And The Lotus – Self-Titled
#22. Toxic Holocaust – Chemistry Of Consciousness
#21. Saxon – Sacrifice
#20. Noctum – Final Sacrifice
#19. Intronaut – Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words With Tones)
#18. Scale The Summit – The Migration
#17. Warbringer – IV: Empires Collapse
#16. Scorpion Child – Self-Titled
#15. Motörhead – Aftershock
#14. Holy Grail – Ride The Void
#13. Red Fang – Whales And Leeches
#12. Soilwork – The Living Infinite
#11. ASG – Blood Drive
#10. The Ocean – Pelagial
#9: Anciients – Heart Of Oak
#8. Cauldron – Tomorrow’s Lost
#7. Enforcer – Death By Fire
#6. Skeletonwitch – Serpents Unleashed
#5. Valient Thorr – Our Own Masters
Check out #4 here.