Marius Danielsen
Legend of Valley Doom - Part 2

He is revisiting Valley Doom and tells us the second part of the legend of that place. From Thorgan to something else, I didn’t really pay that much attention to the story. It is an epic power metal album in the realm of fantasy, knights in shining armour, swords and axes and all of that stuff. The first part of the saga was released in 2015 and this part in the latter stages of 2018. I have heard that he had some impressive guests on that first album and this one has some prominent guests as well, the guest list is rather large with names like Blaze Bayley, Michael Kiske and many others. But having guests like that is one thing, creating something great with those guest is another thing.

The music on offer is power metal of the epic variety, there is a number of singers performing on the album, besides Marius himself, and they all do really well. The production is really good, not too polished but grand and a little bit over the top, like it should be in the epic power metal music. We get a decent variety of songs laid out in a storytelling manner; there is depth in the style but also some narration. I have never really been a fan of narration and like in most cases I feel like the story can do without them, especially the beginning of the third track. It is not a big issue though and the storytelling is otherwise good at bringing the album forwards all the time so that the playing time of over 70 minutes feels like just about right for this album. That is rather impressive I think.

I like this album; it is just silly enough to really get away with over the top epic songs and grand arrangements and stuff like that. The songs are really good and the story is told in a really strong way with great songs and storytellers. The narration is a small weakness, and the album also does not offer anything really new but still gives a fresh impression. So I would claim that this album has no real flaws and it has good songs where the best one is called Tower of Knowledge, a strong ballad with a majestic and over the top feel to it and Mathis Blad sings on it – that’s really great. The album is really great and it is epic for real.

I think you should check this album out, especially if you enjoy the fantasy stories in power metal form or just enjoy some great power metal stuff. Thumbs up for Marius and his legends of Valley Doom, I especially like to visit the tower of knowledge. Great stuff!

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