Valleys debut album “Experiment One:
Asylum” will be released on Feb. 12th, and it is worth a
listen. The concept album explores multiple personality disorder
through the main character, who is called Asylum, and aims to show
listeners that it is possible to overcome. While the concept is more
interesting than most concept albums, it's the musicality of the
album that will grasp you by the throat.
Sucking you in with melody and audio
concepts, there is a softness that lures in listeners, then slams
them up against the wall in hard hitting riffs. Just when you want
to slap a label on the band, the whole sound of the album changes.
There's digital sounding concepts that relax you into a comfortable
state, making you wonder if a different album had been put on, but
then the rock returns with a force.
Each track stands alone differently,
but as a whole, the album does feel like multiple personalities. The
vocals even change, some sounding as if it's going to launch into a
hair ballad, or borderline emo, followed by distinct growling of
hardcore, then softening to rock singing, before growing more angry
like punk rock. In that sense, this album borders on many genres,
both vocally and musically.
This is an album that hard core metal
heads would appreciate, but it has a softer side that would appeal to
many audience members. The fact that there is a concept behind the
album, one that can literally and figuratively be heard when taking
in the album as a whole, speaks volumes in and of itself. This is
not one of those cryptic albums where you kind of get what they're
trying to do, but an album that really does take in the many facets
of sounds and musical techniques to show a well rounded sound
enveloping a concept that touches the lives of many people, echoing
musically how it is in life.
Multiple personalities are shown, as
each song seems to take on a different personality. Whether it's
relaxing back, tranquil, with an almost Spanish finger picking
technique on the guitar, or being slammed full force with machine gun
drumming, you can hear and feel the changes within the album.
Guitars take on meandering playful riffs, but then the drums speed
up, and the vocals begin to growl.
The Valleys have an almost
Cathedral-like storytelling quality, where the story concept can be
felt within the song by the instruments and the vocals. This is a
very cleverly done album, and does not play like a debut full-length
album. “Experiment One: Asylum” sounds more like a crowning
achievement from a band that has been around for years, so if this is
the beginning, one can only wait to see what's next from Valleys.
Valleys were formed in 2013, and though
they released the “Reborn” EP in 2014, “Experiment One: Asylum”
is their first full length album. Valleys were the official winners
of the 2015 Headbang for the Highway Battle of the Bands for the
Summer Slaughter Tour, endorsed by Coldcock Whiskey. Jayson Mitchell
and Mikey Clement share vocals duties, R.J. Riggle and Brandon
Scurlark double team the guitars, while Brandon Clement plays bass,
and Robert Meikle pounds the drums.
For more on Valleys, visit
www.facebook.com/valleysnc,
www.twitter.com/valleysnc,
and www.valleysnc.bandcamp.com.
Marisa Williams earned her Master's in Writing from the Johns
Hopkins University. For more by Marisa, visit
www.lulu.com/spotlight/thorisaz.
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