Valsans – Sword

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“The Hammer, The Hammer, The Hammer of Thor!â€� screams the singer of Valsans as the album Sword opens up. Yes, this is yet another overwhelmingly cringe-worthy heavy metal album, because clearly we were running low on them. Perhaps the biggest cause of despair though is that Mjolnir, the name of the opening track, is perhaps the album’s highlight. The band clearly have genuine points to make – such as how pagan symbols have been abused by far-right movements – and as a song it’s acceptable albeit rather generic. Things quickly descend after that, with the band’s rather evident faults becoming exposed. Everyone has most certainly heard this all before, and done much better at that. The band’s music is mostly forgettable, and whilst the band might have some passion for heavy metal and the historical subject matter (did we really need another song about Excalibur?), it all comes across as very hackneyed. Some of this even comes across as poorly played, which is pretty unacceptable these days. The biggest flaw though is the singer, who sounds uninspired and emotionless, unable to bring to life the supposedly rousing material. Overall this would be what HammerFall would sound like, if they didn’t have any talent or songs. For your cheesy, unintentionally amusing heavy metal fix, Manowar are still probably your best bet.

Written by James Donovan
More: 2011, Albums, Power Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, Valsans