Valence is a four-piece instrumental progressive metal band hailing from New Rochelle, New York. Forming in 2010, the group released a debut LP entitled Sleepwalker in 2012 and an EP entitled Laser Baron in 2015. Many fans of the genre caught onto this band with their unique storytelling approach to songwriting. This band has no vocals, but somehow manage to create elaborate narratives through their music. A quick look at the individual songs’ Bandcamp pages reveals a description for each song’s story, making each song like a chapter in a book. Reading into them while listening to the music, it’s amazing how the band pairs the music with the story so well. Valence makes sure every narrative climax gets the powerful, epic crescendo it deserves. As someone who has been working to become an author, this part of the band is super inspiring to me. The band is going to be going back in the studio in December, but until then, they have dropped a stand-alone single entitled “He Tried to Kill Me with a Forklift” to hold over fans.
The story for this single is summarized in one sentence: “What happens when a bunch of prog dudes get into a forklift fight in space? August 18th, you may find out…” Unlike the other songs, this one is much more open to interpretation. While I applaud that idea, I wish there was a bit more distinction between characters--I am assuming that the prog dudes are the band members, but nothing in the song tells us so. They have gone REALLY in depth on previous releases, writing paragraphs on what the song is supposed to represent, but here we’re kind of just given a sentence and left to fend for ourselves. It’s cool that they are allowing us to come up with our own story for the track, but especially because it’s instrumental, I feel like there should be something more.
The song begins with an ominous atmospheric introduction that leads into a nicely constructed prog section. We hear some spacey, melodic guitars, with the drums providing most of the heavy element throughout the song’s six-minute runtime. The bass is a bit hidden, but when it pops up, it has a very nice, jazzy tone. While a bit typical of progressive metal, the song frequently bounces between progressive metal and atmospheric jazziness, but my biggest issue is with the conclusion of the track. It feels like it just ends. These songs are written like stories, so I suppose this would be an open ending. This only adds to my issue with the whole story not being revealed to us. Is this song part of something bigger, making this sudden ending a “to be continued,” or is it actually the end of this story, and this open ending something I am misinterpreting?
Despite a few issues with this track, I thought it was solid, and I am beyond stoked to see what Valence does next, and where they go. The talent behind this band, their playing and their storycrafting abilities, is more than enough to merit a listen. If you’re into instrumental progressive metal and like well-done sci-fi with your music, don’t sleep on these guys.
- Alex Brown
Archival details
- Original URL
- https://metallifestyle.weebly.com/metal-lifestyle/october-19th-2017
- Recovery source
- live-weebly
- Recovery date
- 2026-07-22
- Stewardship polish
- 2026-07-22
- Preservation status
- restored
- Missing assets
- None recorded
Preserved by Bloodsoaked Media · The Archives