Valley Of The Sun – Quintessence 

Valley of The Sun is a stoner rock band originating from Cincinnati, Ohio. Established in 2010, the band just released their fifth full length album on August 1st, 2024. Entitled Quintessence, the band is lead by originator and creator Ryan Ferrier on guitar and vocals, Chris Sweeney on bass, and the newest member on drums, Johnny Kathman. The new record is self released and contains 10 tracks of heavy riff rock goodness.

I discovered Valley Of The Sun only a few years ago in 2019, just before Old Gods was released. I started listening to their debut EP, 2011’s The Sayings Of The Seers and was totally hooked. I love their sound! Ryan Ferrier has a very powerful voice and the music rocks like nothing else. I instantly consumed the band’s other recordings, 2014’s Electric Talons Of The Thunderhawk and 2016’s Volume Rock, both released on Fuzzorama Records. Valley Of The Sun was the band I needed to hear at that time. When 2022’s The Chariot came out on Ripple Music and Fuzzorama, I was lucky enough to see them perform live twice in support of that record. After the second time live, (the band was a four piece back then), the second guitarist and drummer both left the band. I was bummed out and expected the band to have a long layoff in search of new band members. However, when they released the first half of what would be Quintessence in May, I was very surprised! The liner notes on their Bandcamp page states: “Inspired by the total solar eclipse which took place on day 1 of recording (April 8, 2024), Quintessence marks a return to the three-piece format for Valley of the Sun. With massive, sub-octave guitars, thundering bass, and a backbone of rock-solid drumming, the album is a bit of a departure from previous efforts, but long-time fans of the band will still find all the riffs, melodies, and soaring vocals that they’ve come to expect from VOTS over its previous four LP’s.” 

The first thing I noticed upon hearing Quintessence was the sound production is massive. The opening song “Terra Luna Sol” begins with clean guitar with the heavy drums following and then cranks into a distorted phase guitar riff. When the vocals start, it’s classic Valley Of The Sun! Heavy rocking rhythms, excellent singing with nice backing vocals, and all that fuzz. “Graviton” is next and hits hard and heavy. Ferrier’s vocals start with a lower register and then amps up as the music intensifies. The song is a slower tsunami of devastating riffs. The third track “Where’s This Place” begins with the bass and then clean guitar and drums. It’s another slower number that has some good guitar riffing with nice leads and more great singing. “The Late Heavy Bombardment” is a banger! The heavy bass playing from Sweeney accompanied by the pounding drumming of Kathman allows Ferrier to flex his guitar muscles on this one. The bass and drum breakdown bridge part allows Ryan to lay down a nice, infectious and bluesy guitar solo.

In some ways, Quintessence reminds me of Old Gods with two instrumental interludes placed between the main songs. The first one “Red Shift” acts as an introduction to “Palus Sommi.” The song starts melodic and then goes into a nice driving rhythm. Valley Of The Sun has a particular formula with this record and utilizes a lot of dynamics of classical clean guitar playing with full on heavy fuzz. The vocal range of Ferrier molds the contrast of sounds perfectly as demonstrated in “Theia.” Most of the songs on this record weave in and out of these musical transitions, in which they play it so well. However, “I’ll See Them Burn” has a more direct and vicious approach. Starting with the bass and drums together, the song then kicks in with guitar chords and more angrier vocals. The style is more aggressive but the band still manages to keep everything tight and deliberate in the rocking execution. “Aurora” is the second instrumental interlude with a nice clean guitar sound and some snare taps too. The song fades out quickly and leads us into the title track and last cut on the record. The seven and a half minute finisher forages a nice monumental ending to a great album. Mostly a riff centric song, “Quintessence” transitions into a softer melody towards the end with some whistling and chimes, before delving back into the heavier riffing into a fade out. 

Quintessence wasn’t a completely immediate record upon the first several listens for me. The songs had to grow and germinate into my hearing senses for me to fully appreciate them. Similar was my experience with Old Gods, this record demanded my patience to fully embrace and consume what Valley Of The Sun was offering. The band continues to expand and evolve their sound with each and every album thus far. They are one of my favorite bands today and I look forward to seeing them continue to flourish in the future.

https://valleyofthesun.bandcamp.com

Valley of the Sun