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Austria's Valsans is going for the "True" Metal crowd with their debut full-length album Sword. Musically, they play an amalgam of Iron Maiden and Hammerfall while lyrically Manowar and Cryonic Temple provide the template. Sadly, they don't do either very well.

There are some decent riffs, like the "Aces High"-inspired "Valsans" and the rocking "Golden Treasure" to go along with some speedy, double-kick drums, but everything is so generic you'll forget them as soon as they end. The choruses are mostly terrible; sounding as thought they were added as afterthoughts, with vocalist Andy B. Barna trying to shoehorn the words into spaces much too small. Which brings me to the lyrics, which are so mind numbingly simple and awkward they sound like they were all written when the band members were 14. I expect "True" Metal lyrics to be cheesy, it is part of the charm, but if Manowar can be thought of as fine, aged cheddar, Valsans is that bland, fake crap you get from a spray can.

Recycled riffs, uninspired arrangements and sophomoric lyrics spell doom for Sword. Valsans can play, but they need some better material if they expect to go anywhere.