Superb and sublimely heavy Cincinnati Rock group Valley of the Sun will release its third full-length album, Old Gods, on May 24 via Swedish label Fuzzorama Records. You can pre-order the album on vinyl here and on CD here. Check out the various Old Gods packages and new merch from the band here.
The album is the first new music since 2016's Volume Rock from VoS, which currently features the core duo of Ryan Ferrier (guitar, vocals) and Aaron Boyer (drums), plus bassist/keyboardist Chris Sweeney and most recent member, guitarist Josh Pilot.
Last week the website Doomed and Stoned debuted a track from the forthcoming album, "Means the Same."
Doomed and Stoned also interviewed Ferrier about Old Gods, which the bandleader says was written during "a time when I was facing a lot of dependency and addiction issues, issues that I’m still struggling with, which have taken a pretty significant toll on my physical and mental health."
"I think addiction, fear, uncertainty and loss are all pretty prominent themes of this one, though they’re generally spun toward the hopeful side," Ferrier said. "Many of the reassurances are pointed inward just as much as they are toward the
listener, as a way to stifle a crushing sense of self-doubt. I lost my little sister suddenly in 2015, a month after we finished Volume Rock, and it threw me way out of balance for a long time, and, I think, brought a lot of these existential questions to the forefront. Additionally, the title Old Gods and the religious iconography are a nod not only to spiritual uncertainty, but also to relics of our past, including old belief systems, behaviors and identities."
Click here to read the full interview.
The hard-touring Valley of the Sun, which has played across Europe numerous times (CityBeat's Nick Grever was the band's merch person for one such tour, which you can read about here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here), is getting ready to get back in the van next month, playing dates across North America through May. Ferrier told D&S that the quartet will be heading back to Europe in September.
Cincinnati fans can catch VoS this Thursday (March 21) at The Comet in Northside with special guests Casino Warrior. The show is free and begins at 9 p.m.
Click here for the latest Valley of the Sun updates.
