RockRace are a hard rock/metal band from Italy who formed a couple of years ago and Valkirja is their sophomore effort. Comprised of vocalist Rudy Baiocchi, guitarist Antonio Gambacorta, bassist Tommaso Paolone, and drummer Glauco Di Sabatino, these four have created a very solid platter of crunchy & groove-laden songs here. Though they list their influences as Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Whitesnake, and Guns 'n' Roses, I don't really hear any of those bands in their music, which is perhaps a good thing. Many of these songs are plenty rocking and memorable, such as "I Hate the World", "The Beginning", and "Too Bad", featuring blistering hard rock riffs and catchy hooks. Honestly, there's something to be said for a Gibson Les Paul cranked through a Marshall stack, and that's just what it sounds like Gambacorta is using to deliver his metallic muscle that permeates Valkirja. His massive yet somewhat bluesy riffage on "Hole in My Soul" is like a bastard child of Soundgarden and ZZ Top, and the raunchy, slashing riffs of the title track bring to mind classic Page, Iommi, and Sykes.Overall this is a fun, hard rocking good time, nothing that's going to set the world on fire mind you, but RockRace certainly have plenty of muscle and swagger to entertain anyone into modern heavy rock music with a flair from the best of the '70s & '80s. The ballads don't really fare as well, but the heavier material is quite good and worth checking out.
Track Listing
01. The Beginning
02. Best Love
03. I Hate The World
04. To Love And Hate
05. Too Bad
06. Hole In My Soul
07. Valkirja
08. Uprising
09. Walk On By Myself
10. Wide Hips 69
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