Valkyrja
The Antagonist’s Fire

[colored_box color=”grey”]Rating: 7.5
Label: World Terror Committee
Website: Link
Author: Kostas Tsotsanis[/colored_box]

Valkyrja (do not mistake them with Valkyria), complete ten years as a band in 2014.Within those years, those ten years, they have released three records, embracing the old-school black metal approach and music’s ideology. Their latest release, titled ‘The Antagonist’s Fire’, came out a few months before, in November of the previous year, receiving positive feedback from almost everyone.

Getting in touch with ‘Antagonist’s Fire’, I feel the urge to mention how beautiful the front artwork is. The holy skeleton/mage rising and the smoke coming out of the stuffs, as well as the dark colors, made me feel excited to dig in the record. With seven songs enlisted, the record can be generally described as a simple, black metal record, with some ambient moments, screaming and aggressive vocals and filthy melodies. With lyrics concerning humanitarian and social matters, the vocalist delivers edgy, enraged vocal lines, perfectly fitting in with the heavy, groovy triplet guitar riffs. There are numerous guitar solos in the record as well as parts which are slower, ambient and closer (as well as influenced) by heavy metal. Examples for those parts are the breakdowns in ‘The Cremating Fire’ or ‘Eulogy’ ,which is fast and melodic, rather than just aggressive, brutal and plain.

‘The Antagonist’s Fire’ settles off with ‘Betrayal Incarnate’, one of my favorite songs of the record. ‘Betrayal Incarnate’ is pluralistic; it begins with a lovely, groovy intro, to evolve into mayhem. Another favorable moment is ‘Madness Redeemer’, especially the drum parts. The introductive music along with the blasting drum’s background is orgasmic. ‘Yearn to Burn’ is another catchy song, because of its beloved break-downs. Most of the songs are thrash-influenced; they are furious and speedy. However, I would prefer the songs to include more significant moments, as the record is getting a little tiresome after a while. However, the band actually gifted us with an interesting piece of work, no matter its feeblenesses.

Overall, the record managed to get the attention it claimed, honestly becoming the very best of Valkyrja’s career till today. With a few up and downs, Valkyrja did not created the year’s best black metal record, but they totally deserve to me honored.