Valkitaar’s metal album, What Lies Beneath (Deluxe Edition) talks to you through the chaos, pain, and determination that define the artist’s raw journey. As someone who doesn’t even consider metal my go-to genre, I was surprised to find a couple of its tracks creeping into my playlist—and staying there.
The opener, “Forkill” instantly throws you into a storm. The riffs bite, the drums hammer like a war drum, and the vocals growl with a hostile and haunting ferality. There’s something cinematic about the way the track builds—at one point, it’s all-out attack, and the next, it’s the voice in your head whispering truths you don’t want to hear. Valkitaar blends the ferocity of Slipknot and the twisted theatricality of Avenged Sevenfold while keeping his own signature sharp and present.
The title track “What Lies Beneath” comes with nuclear energy of visceral lyrics, speed-demon percussion, and unrelenting rage. But it’s not just aggression for aggression’s sake. The song portrays a psyche unraveling and confronting the world with clenched fists. And yet, between the threats and the screams, you can hear vulnerability.
“Road to the Kings” is a change of pace—somber, spiritual, almost mythic. The melancholic pulse beneath the heavy instrumentation gives the track emotional weight. When the solo drops near the end, it’s like the sun breaking through storm clouds. The song is both lament and battle cry, and it’s where Valkitaar’s musical storytelling feels most personal.
Valkitaar, witha laptop in a basement, has birthed something brutal and beautiful. Listen to What Lies Beneath (Deluxe Edition) on Spotify.
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Review by: Naomi Joan