Album Review: The Valley - 'Burning At The Mistake'

Ok, let’s get my rant out of the way. I don’t like what The Valley represent. Once upon a time, they were a pop-punk band. Then The Used became cool and all of a sudden, The Valley were screamo. Fast forward 12 months and Parkway Drive are the reigning kings of Australian metalcore – so of course, The Valley are now peddling breakdowns, brutal vocals and 2 step parts.

Now that we’ve ascertained that The Valley change their musical style as often as Jarule (that’s right, Killyourstereo’s resident trash bag) talks shit, I should discuss songs!

Quite simply, Burning At The Mistake is a 3rd rate metalcore release. The riffs are generic, the production is average at best and the vocals are about as threatening as a tickle me Elmo doll.

I made the effort to track down earlier recordings from The Valley and I’ll be honest – the older songs are pretty impressive. They had great vocal hooks, catchy riffs and carried the same punch as current myspace favourites, Underoath – which is why it’s even more frustrating to hear The Valley’s current efforts. The band is clearly capable of penning a good tune but they’ve sacrificed it to ride the wave of mosh that’s currently sweeping the nation.

If you’re looking for an easy to listen to mosh CD, then Burning At The

Mistake is for you. On the other hand, if you like real metal... avoid

this at all cost.

   1. "Nonpareil"

   2. "Apparently I'm Walking A Narrow Path"

   3. "If You Woke This Morning"

   4. "You Ain't Got Nothing On Jack Caine"

   5. "These Shadows Aren't Threateni