Subscribe to Loudwire on
It is with heavy hearts that we present an exclusive album stream of Experiment One: Asylum from up and coming modern progressive outfit Valleys. Tragedy struck last week (Feb. 6) when one of the band’s vocalists, Mikey Clement, lost his life in a car accident. Prior to his death, Valleys had arranged to showcase their album with Loudwire, and in tribute to Clement, the band has asked us to proceed with the exclusive stream (listen above).
The North Carolina outfit has crafted their debut record in a conceptual format, highlighting a particular mental disease. Jayson Mitchell, who handles all the clean singing, commented on the record, “We wrote this album as a concept on Multiple Personality Disorder because we understand how devastating this disease can be on the individual and his/her family. We wrote these lyrics and music as a way of hope for the people diagnosed with this disease. We want them to hear the record and hear the story of Asylum, the main character, and see that if he can fight the disease, anyone can.”
Experiment One: Asylum follows the path of the character Asylum as he combats a different facet of his personality in each track. Valleys explore polar ends of the heavy metal spectrum, utilizing soothing electronic elements and Mitchell’s soaring clean voice against the more barbaric and frenzied aspects of their sound. Triumphant chord progressions are sent on a collision course with slugging breakdowns and the late Clement’s monstrous guttural bellows. Staccato, palm-muted rhythms are the standard of modern extreme metal, but Valleys blend them with gleaming leads, best represented in the song “Choices.”
Valleys are currently preparing a spring 2016 tour in support of their first full length effort as they highlight their resiliency in a most trying time in the young band’s career. The band will be holding their record release show tonight (Feb. 12), which will double as a benefit show for Mikey Clement at the Southland Ballroom in Raleigh, N.C. To purchase Experiment One: Asylum, click here.
Source: Loudwire.com
