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Tierra Hostil is the second full-length from Spain's Valkyria, a band dishing up some smooth, melodic metal in the Black Majesty/Masterplan mold. The vocals are prototypical for this style; melodic, comfortable at the high end and with a good dose of grit. The guitarists work off each other well and the riffs are simple yet entertaining. My rudimentary Spanish doesn't give me much insight into what Valkyria are singing about but the choruses are mainly upbeat, so the songs give off a lot of positive vibes. Tierra Hostil is well played, but the songwriting doesn't take very many chances and that renders the album a little faceless, though "Ecos del Mañana" stands with its back straighter than the rest. As long as you aren't expecting any surprises, you can do a lot worse than Tierra Hostil.