Rival Sons
Great Western Valkyrie

"Great Western Valkyrie" is the fourth studio effort from the Californian group. Successor to "Head Down", the album showcases a band mature just right; in fact, in the opinion of the writer, the record is the best that Holiday and company have produced. Their seventies hard rock is heavily inspired by Led Zeppelin (just listen to "Pressure and Time"), but the band has refined their style over the years, evolving in an incredible way. Over the years, the band has had the fortune to open for some of the biggest bands on the planet like Ac/Dc, Deep Purple, Kiss, thus having the opportunity to be known worldwide. Behind the bass, we find David Baste, who replaced Robin Everheart.

The album opens with "Electric Man", an electrifying track with a not particularly elaborate, yet certainly effective Zeppelin-esque riff. The following "Good Luck" and "Secret" are the classic live songs. The riffs that accompany the songs are compelling, while Jay Buchanan's work behind the microphone is practically perfect. In "Play the Fool" the ghost of Led Zeppelin is still visible, but nonetheless, the track achieves its goal, which is to get into the listener's head from the first listen. "Open My Eyes" is one of the best songs of the collection. Powerful and engaging, with Buchanan once again in the spotlight. It's practically impossible not to sing with him "Somebody come and Open My Eyes". The album closes with what are the best songs of the album. "Where I've Been" and "Destination of Course" are two breathtaking pieces. The first is an exceptionally inspired ballad, with incredible work from the entire band (needless to highlight Buchanan’s spine-tingling vocal performance). A song to listen to over and over. The second, on the other hand, is slightly inferior, perhaps due to its 7 minutes (let's say a minute less would have benefited the track), but it is still impactful.

Ultimately, the album is beautiful, the best to date from the Californians. Nothing new, nothing that makes you shout for a miracle, but listening to something like this is always a pleasure. The band’s strong point is definitely Jay Buchanan, a vocalist among the best in the rock scene without a doubt, but also Scott Holiday is a fine musician capable of churning out significant riffs. For the band's detractors, they are just a "legalized Zeppelin cover band", an expression not entirely wrong given that the references to Page and company's band are evident, but labeling the band this way is unfair. The prospects for a glorious career are all there, now it’s up to them to continue on this path and give us some damn good Rock n Roll!