ALBUM REVIEW: Valafar, "Wolfenkind"



By: Richard Maw

 

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 13/11/2018

Label: Independent

 

there are no bad tracks here and over the course of the eight tracks the band have crafted a fine and vicious album. Valafar are a band to watch and they are destined for greater things

 

“Wolfenkind”CD track listing:

 

1). Úlfhéðnar

2). Brotherhood of the Wolf

3). Path of the Warrior

4). Bloody Spoils of War

5). Shunned from the Light

6). The Ballad of Plainfield

7). Odin’s Call

8). Born of the Nine

 

 

The Review:

 

Valafar hail from West Yorkshire and have imbued this Viking/death/metal with a good deal of the grit the region is famed for.  Keighley and surrounding areas would historically have been part of Northumbria in the dark ages, as would (oddly)  a fair bit south of the River Humber as well- everything from Lincoln upwards was firmly Viking territory. It is not so strange, then, that these Yorkshire bruisers would be espousing a Norse doctrine and bringing tracks enthralled to the Ulf/Varg/Ulva in the form of “Brotherhood of the Wolf”.

 

With other tracks named “Path of The Warrior”, “Odin's Call”, “Born of the Nine...” you know what to expect thematically from those titles! Musically, this is absolutely rock solid- good production job, growled vocals, tales of glory and mayhem; it's all here. I suppose as a reference point this is kind of like a death metal Grand Magus. There are cracking riffs to be had here, it's not mindlessly “brutal” as the songs are thought out and the band has brought some seriously groove filled and sludgy riffs.

 

In short, this is not just speed for speed's sake death metal, but neither is it anything less than very heavy. There is something here for fans of death metal, trad metal, thrash metal and even doom metal, as well as Vikings of course. Sound wise, this is perhaps closer to Swe-death than Florida death metal, but Euro death is closer again to the mark. Think Asphyx jamming with Grand Magus via Revel in Fleshor similar and you are getting there.

 

To be clear, there are no bad tracks here and over the course of the eight tracks the band have crafted a fine and vicious album. Valafar are a band to watch and they are destined for greater things- watch this space and get out to see them live when you can. Stirring stuff.

 

“Wolfenkind” is available HERE

 

Band info: facebook