Valient Thorr: Our Own Masters – new album & Torn Apart – new video

“In a world where music has been growing increasingly beardy and serious, especially in the realm of metal, a band like VALIENT THORR can be a breath of refreshing, albeit sweaty, air,” [wrote Gregory Heaney, AllMusic]

Starting off with a track called ‘Immaculate Consumption’, VALIENT THORR's new and sixth album, ‘Our Own Masters’, is available for your listening pleasure below, courtesy the band's faithful label Volcom Entertainment. Described as “ridiculous without being ironic, and fun without being silly” by aforementioned reviewer, ‘Our Own Masters’ is out now everywhere including Venus, except the USA. where it will be released tomorrow, June 18th, 2013. Recorded at Ronnie Jone Sound Studios in Athens, Georgia with Kyle Spence who produced, engineered and mixed the album, its cover is reportedly a 1975 painting by John Aylward, father of VALIENT THORR drummer Jason Aylward. ‘Our Own Masters’ awaits you here (VALIENT THORR's store), on iTunes and Amazon:

“If their life on the road is causing any wear and tear on them, VALIENT THORR [who play an average of 200 - 250 live shows a year], sure don’t show it on the album, which has an invigorating quality about it that makes you want to immediately drop what you’re doing, shotgun an energy drink, and air guitar along to the album's endless string of killer riffs until you pass out from exhaustion,” [praised the album Gregory Heaney, AllMusic – more here]

Extraterrestrial members of VALIENT THORR, “the rock n’ roll saviors from Venus who crossed the solar system to warn Earthlings about the error of our ways”, left Burlatia, Venus and landed in North Carolina, USA in the year 2001. In 2003, they officially announced their current Earthling incarnations via their first, self-released album ‘Stranded On Earth’. After replacing original drummer Donn Thorr with current drummer Lucian Thorr, VALIENT THORR had signed a treaty with Volcom Entertainment which was to ensure that we, mortals of Earth, don’t share the Venusians' fate (overpopulation and war). Their debut full-length entitled ‘Total Universe Man’ was released in 2005; its success allowed the Venusians to quit their undercover Earthling day gigs (which included the members earning Masters Degrees in various Earth studies and Valient Himself's stint as a 6th-grade teacher) and hit the road full-time. Once on the road, VALIENT THORR lost their original rhythm guitarist Jjinn Thorr whom they replaced first with Bjorn Thorr and later with guitarist Odinn Thorr. VALIENT THORR consequently played an amazing 272 shows in the year 2006. They had also managed to squeeze in another studio album, ‘Legend Of The World’:

“VALIENT THORR return to planet Earth shaggier and denim-claddier than ever before,” [explained AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia] “Spewing double-or-nothing-entendre song-ditties dedicated to eviscerating the U.S. government and organized religion and describing their travels through the cosmos in equal measures. Sometimes they even mix politics and science fiction in unfailingly entertaining fashion; a hyper-paranoid Valient Himself complains about people going through his mail. But whatever the subject, real or imaginary (and to some conservative retrogrades, one may seem as implausible and un-American as the other), it takes some guts for VALIENT THORR to voice them so brazenly - not to mention eschew meaningless hippie preaching to demand action, action, ACTION!” [More here]

500 shows and new guitarist, Voiden Thorr, later, the group released 2008's ‘Immortalizer’ which undoubtedly withstood “the test of time across all planets of the solar system”, it being recorded with legendary Earthling Jack Endino. Not a group of aliens to rest on their laurels, they returned to the legendary Earthling with fifth album ‘Stranger’, which followed in 2010:

“All kidding aside, of all the VALIENT THORR albums, ‘Stranger’ is arguably the one where they least sound like the “X-Files'” house band, and yet it also sees the quintet coming full circle to the unpredictable metallic rock hybrid concocted by its breakthrough album, 2005's ‘Total Universe Man’. This is a good thing, since it means that fans are treated to the same, “as seen on-stage” level of irrepressible energy, wed to a restless imagination and highly entertaining lyrics that have always helped distinguish VALIENT THOR from the workmanlike hard rock masses”

VALIENT THORR features: Valient Himself – vocals, Eidan Thorr – guitars, Dr. Professor Nitewolf Strangees – bass, Voiden Thorr - guitars and Lucian Thorr – drums