Reviews list for Valkyria - Valkyria (1993)

Valkyria is one of those weird foreign thrash metal bands. I've seen many things said about them. Prog thrash, tech thrash and thrash/speed. Yet of these, I would say the most important aspect of the band's sound is none of them. Instead, it's a little cheap keyboard making symphonic sounds that fulfills this band's sound as a not quite symphonic thrash metal band.
I say not quite, because the symphonic parts are sporadic, but their presence elevates this album from being a well made thrash album to something quite unique. Yes, there's something unorthodox in the song structure, and yes, the album has that speed metal sound, but it's nothing compared to a great thrash guitarist sitting back and letting someone do a MIDI violin solo.
One issue I noticed is that a lot of the solo sections have a sound similar to Doom E1M1. In the sense that the backing tracks match how it goes to some extent. The guitars are somewhat different, but the drums are clearly riffing on almost the same idea.
But the big issue is the production. Some might call it bad, pathetic, wimpy, or muddly. I prefer charmingly bad. It's obviously a cheap job with a lower range than it should have. The aspect that suffers the most is the vocals, the dude's a shrieker emulating Halford to some degree, and it crushes the hell out of his range, often blending into the guitars.
Overall, I really like this album, and I think even if it has flaws, the strengths outweigh them. If nothing else, this is a solid addition to the collection of any fan of weird thrash.