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The Heavy Metal from the U.K. has always been a favorite of mine, whether it is from the 80s or from one of the many newer sub-genres. Great Britain will forever be the fatherland of Heavy Metal and metal, in general. I shouldn't have to remind you of the legends from that country. However, success isn't guaranteed, based on nationality, whether you are a newcomer or a veteran band. Valpurgis Night is a band for those that crave the sounds of the 80s.

You might think, based on the album's title Psalms of Solemn Virtue that this is a melancholy epic and you wouldn't be that far off. There is certainly some Doom mixed in with the Heavy Metal and even some hints of Thrash. As diverse as this band is, they still have a long way to go in the area of composition. At least they didn't try to recycle others too much. Their longer songs are far too basically structured to hold the listener's interest for their entire length. In their favor is the production which is mid to late 80s, although I think the gain on the guitar could have been lowered as it was physically painful to my ears, at times.

One big question looms; where are the solos? I couldn't help but notice that despite some fine melodic breaks and aggressive licks, the solos were missing. Only minor glimpses of lead guitar could be found amongst the main riffs. Lead singer Preacher didn't put much gas on the fire either.

Valpurgis Night succeed as a British-styled 80s Heavy Metal band with tracks like "Broken Spectre" and the album closer "Row to the Rhythm." There are other songs that aren't that far behind and if the band can insert some additional melodies and solos, they can only get better.