It all began in 2005 when the conception of
HEROES OF VALLENTOR in Sweden. Brothers Lars and Bjorn started writing. Within the next few years there were a roller coaster of events including recruiting, playing, a demo, and the eventual split of the band. Fast forward to 2012, the band is back in action and recruited the final member,
CALLE SUNDBERG, to the reunited
HEROES OF VALLENTOR. They joined forces with Inverse Records and released their first full length album “
The Warriors Path Part I”.
The album was released on October 10, 2014 coming in at elven tracks with about 54 minutes of listening time.
HEROES OF VALLENTOR is an Epic Heavy Metal band that is shown in “
The Warriors Path Part I” along with some thrash elements to complete the debut sound. Their influences include
IRON MAIDEN,
MANOWAR, amongst many other big names. The album starts its epic adventure with “
The Quest”. A slow, spoken intro to what will turn to a fast and heroic story to slay Agranoth, an evil wizard, on the “
Warriors Path”.
Track two “
Warriors Path” continues with music where “
The Quest” left off with words. Telling the story of brave warrior and what he has to do. The music is brilliantly written and balanced so that nothing is overpowering. The Heavy Metal riffs that cascade through this track are phenomenal. The drums are on queue with every beat, march and step. The vocals, in Epic Metal style, are a mixture of lower sung pieces with higher belted notes.
As the story continues on, the music just gets better. The riffs and solos of the guitars are prefect. There are some beautiful bass lines mingled throughout the album. The vocals are hit or miss for me, bringing in the Thrash Metal element a bit too much, but still well done. The drums keep this entire album marching on, literally. They are so good, that they are the war of the music.
A few exceptional tracks on this too good to be a debut album “
The Warriors Path Part I” include “
The Questing Knight”, “
Vengeance”, “
Hawktalon”, and “
The Sword of Heroes”. All riddled with amazing musicianship and quality lyrics.
I love music that follows a story line. I love music that has epic battles and heroes. I love this album. “The Warriors Path Part I” is a glorious adventure in the battles to the hopeful slaying of Agranoth. I hope to hear Part II of this journey soon as the rest of the story is left untold.