It had to happen, we send probes and robotic crafts to a remote and distant planet and they send us a whole new genre of music in response, well not exactly but wouldn't it be cool if they did. The truth is that inspired by NASA's pictures of Mars' vast red sanded desert landscape Minneapolis, Minnesota metallists Hrad Vallis have come up with a new tag to attach to their stonerized grooves of rifftastical raucousness and thrumming rhythmical thunder, they call it the "New Wave of Martian Desert Metal" or "NWOMDM" for short. They were so pleased with their creation they even named their debut album after it, so welcome earthlings to "NWOMDM"
Obviously there is s certain element of tongue in cheek humour attached to Hrad Vallis tagging their sound as "NWOMDM", a humour compounded by the band calling themselves "the only metal band on Mars" and filling their debut with song titles like " Shitty Ass Moon Boots" and "Slam Piece Timmy", a song apparently that was originally going to be called "Slampiece Timmy & the Tater Tots" and is, in their words, about "a fictional sci-fi rock band that are all prima donna assholes". Do not however expect some sort of novelty comedy record as although their is plenty of black humour to be found in much of the albums lyrical content, Hrad Vallis take their music very seriously indeed. Cobbling together elements of prog, metal stoner/desert rock and good old heavy metal Hrad Vallis create a sound that might not actually be considered the "new wave " of anything but is nevertheless a highly enjoyable sound that crisscrosses across genres, cleverly never quite commiting to just one. Musically the band, Steve Svensson (lead guitar/vocals); Brad Mahaffey ( lead guitar/vocals); K. Dick Sando (bass/vocals) and Aaron Domeier (drums/percussion), are a tight unit able to effortlessly switch between styles and dynamics as song dictates with the albums vocals, a mixture of powerful gritty lead and gruff harmonies, perfectly suited to the equally gruff and gritty grooves that surround them. Hrad Vallis do not promise cutting edge or navel gazing complex grooves, though we are sure they are more than capable of delivering them if asked, what they do deliver is good hard rocking metal infused with a sense of the ridiculous ..... and that alone is worth the a few moments of your time.
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