Although I thought I knew this band I realized that I had mistaken them for an Italian Heavy/Power Metal band. Anyway, I didn't know shit about these guys so the internet and the bio sheet that was included in this digital promo would surely seem very helpful. Let's see what we have here...

VALKYRJA is surely a fresh band since they were formed in 2004 and this is only their second full-length album. After signing a contract with the German well known label Metal Blade, the Swedish quartet seems like it has the push it needs, the only thing that is left is to show if they can take advantage of this push.

When I hear the term Swedish Black Metal, the first thing that comes to my mind is the word "melodic". As it seems I was not totally wrong, since melody is an element that is highly used in VALKYRJA's music. Do not get confused, I am not talking about melody as it is used in other music genres (I am not even sure if I got you to understand what I am trying to say). The Swedish legion reminded me a lot of bands like DARK FUNERAL and NAGLFAR, but the good thing about these guys is that they also feature some mid tempo and epic passages, something like the slow parts of IMMORTAL. So, the well worked combination of blasts and epic mid tempo breaks is surely something that will not let you get bored and will surely make you find something interesting in this band but the thing is that VALKYRJA play a straightforward style of Black Metal while writing tracks whose length exceeds the 5 and 6 minutes "ordinary" one.

OK, they have the ability to keep you interested despite the length, but how many listening sessions will it take for you to get bored? They are good at what they do but they don't have this extra thing that will make them special. I guess they have a long way in front of them and they will surely take advantage of it, but until then they are not something more than a just good Black Metal band.