The story of this Swedish Black Metal act started in 2004 while the first audio proof of their existence was a five track release entitled Funeral Voices that saw the light of the day a year after. The band having signed a record deal with Deathkrush Productions re-released Funeral Voices with 5 more tracks under the new title Far Beyond. The positive reaction from the media and the fans gave the band the opportunity to release the debut full length album The Invocation Of Demise through Northern Silence Productions in 2007.
So, why do I have to mention all the above bio data of VALKYRJA? Well, the answer is pretty simply since this review is about the re-release of VALKYRJA's debut album after the enlistment to Metal Blade band inventory. The band is currently preparing the second full length album so this re-release is the best way to get to know them.
It is not very difficult to add a music tag on this one; starting off with the band's difficult-to-read logo you get the idea that Black Metal is the main issue here. Nowadays, Black Metal has grown many branches, spanning from Symphonic to depressive ambient sub-genres, losing -as the hardcore fans believe- its originality, honesty and eventually the underground feeling. Well, it feels/sounds like VALKYRJA belong to the no-branches Black Metal scene and I think this will please most of the old-school metalheads. And this means no keyboards and no shining production. The music here is based on fast drums (with some blast beats) and shredding guitar riffs that followed the repetitive old-school structure. To my delight, the vocals flirt with Death Metal and don't belong to the screaming-my-lungs-out category. You can also find some melodic parts in terms of clean guitar arpeggios as heard in Plague Death. It is true that this album will not break new grounds in the Black Metal scene simply because it stays right on track leaving the experimentations aside. Twilight Revelation and Sinister Obsession put the name of IMMORTAL in the top positions of the influences list mainly due to the mid tempo and the Abbath sounding vocals. The epic feeling during the entire track along with the very good guitar solo are some of the strong elements in VALKYRJA's music that I would love to have in their upcoming album.
Without being something impressive The Invocation Of Demise is a nice introduction to his Swedish band. In this release you can find all those elements that convinced Metal Blade to offer VALKYRJA a record deal. The band has composing potential but needs to clear them out from all the cliche structures and eventually refine their sound in something more personal. Well, their Swedish ancestry is generally an assurance so we will wait for the band's next step. In the meantime you can visit the band's myspace page to get a taste of your own.