VALHALL — Trauma (review)

VALHALL — Trauma album cover Demo · 1990 · Death-Doom Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
UMUR
"Trauma" is the third demo recording by Norwegian death/black/thrash/doom metal act Valhall. The demo was independently released in April 1990. It´s the successor to the August 1989 "Amalgamation" demo. Valhall formed in 1987 and featured Gylve Nagell (aka Fenriz from Darkthrone) on drums on their first two demos (and on some tracks on this demo). "Trauma" is an odd demo release as it features four Valhall tracks and was released under the Valhall monicker, but it also features one track from Isengard and one track from Reitgjerde Pasientband, and the Heavy Ripping Fyrstikk. Both contemporary Fenriz related artists.

Stylistically the Valhall material featured on "Trauma" is a giant step forward for Valhall in terms of quality and consitency of style. The music is still a hybrid doom, death, black, and at times even thrash metal style, which isn´t easily described, but Valhall are much closer to nailing a version of their sound here than they were on the first two demos, which weren´t exactly high quality releases. "Trauma" is both well produced (considering that it´s a demo), well performed (I enjoy that the blackened snarling vocals have returned), and well composed and Valhall are now a force to be reckoned with.

The "Kingdom Fire" track by Isengard is pure oddness with a mousy child like spoken word vocal featured on some of the track. The instrumental part of the music sounds a lot like the four Valhall songs which preceded it on the tracklist. The Reitgjerde Pasientband, and the Heavy Ripping Fyrstikk track is a "fun" track and sounds like Beastie Boys got really drunk and couldn´t control themselves. Pretty awful rap/funk song that one.

Disregarding the Isengard and the Reitgjerde Pasientband, and the Heavy Ripping Fyrstikk tracks, "Trauma" was by far the best quality demo release from Valhall up until then and there´s some real promise here. Therefore a 3 star (60%) rating isn´t all wrong.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Unatøned Groove Metal
MACHINE HEAD
Buy this album from MMA partners
Inverted World Death Metal
CANCER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Exhumed Vol. 2 Deathcore
COMMON THIEVES
Buy this album from MMA partners
Lungsplitter Sludge Metal
LUNGSPLITTER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Control Death Metal
LANDFILTH
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

The Original Alice Cooper Group - Black Mamba (Official Video)
ALICE COOPER
Tupan· 11 hours ago
Common Thieves - No Quarter (Official Visualizer)
COMMON THIEVES
Bosh66· 2 days ago
Common Thieves - Null & Void (Official Music Video)
COMMON THIEVES
Bosh66· 2 days ago
Common Thieves - Collapse
COMMON THIEVES
Bosh66· 2 days ago
Common Thieves - 1978 (Official Music Video)
COMMON THIEVES
Bosh66· 2 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed