Nitrogods – Valley Of The Gods

Nitrogods
Valley Of The Gods
Label: Massacre Records
Out: October 25^th, 2024
Playing time: 48:50

Author: Erich Robbers (Rockcastle Franken)

Good times for fans of dirty street dog Rock’n Roll. The Nitrogods’ fifth studio album is being released at almost the same time as the new Ohrenfeindt output. And ‘Valley Of The Gods’, as the album title goes, could symbolise the community in which the trio from Hanover/Stuttgart operate. Five years after ‘Rebel Dayz’, there are now fourteen new hits, which of course still very often bring Lemmy and Motörhead to mind.

Initially, Nitrogods follow in the footsteps of King Elvis with the opener ‘Left Lane To Memphis’. Musically, this has little to do with Presley. Instead, we experience a typical street rock smasher, wonderfully riffed by guitarist Henny Wolter and sung lemmy-esque by Claus ‘Oimel’ Larcher. There are many of these songs again, such as ‘Shinebone Kicker’, ‘Prime Time Terror’ or ‘Rotten Sucker’. It is not uncommon for such tracks to have a playing time of less than three minutes. Everything is said quite quickly.

Of course, they don’t take themselves all that seriously, as you can tell from the lyrics. But there is usually a socially critical wink in the mix. And of course they are thirsty too, as the surprising ‘Last Beer Blues’ shows. Rarely has a last round in the pub been better set to music. Even ‘Gimme Beer’ speaks for itself. Oimel keeps the rough aggro charm immensely high at all times and occasionally sounds like Kermit from the original German speed metal band Tyrrant.

Whether quoting the insane asylum like in ‘Mental Hickup’, taking the piss out of tour life like in ‘Breaking Balls’ or simple biker numbers like ‘Ridin’ Out‘ …., the Nitrogods’ songs are just great and even if some songs are a bit more slowed down, the ‘Valley Of The Gods’ is a blast.

Of course, the Nitrogods’ songs are all made for the stage and the new tracks will invariably cause dust, sweat and exhaustion in the audience. And they show that they don’t just want to be compared to Motörhead, although there are still some reminders of the legend. In any case, the new album is once again ideal for racy rides on the world’s highways and for wet and cheerful rock parties. And the biker scene celebrates the guys anyway. Everything done right again, guys.

Nitrogods – Broke And Ugly: https://youtu.be/JcMO4OdtjpY?si=n9OhDyxn0zKgH9CW

Lineup:

Claus “Oimel” Larcher – Vocals, Bass
Henny Wolter – Gitarren, Vocals
Klaus Sperling – Drums

Track list:

• Left Lane To Memphis
• Shinbone Kicker
• Valley Of The Gods
• Last Beer Blues
• Broke And Ugly
• Rotten Sucker
• Kings Of Nothing
• Mental Hickup
• Prime Time Terror
• 8 Arms
• Gimme Beer
• Like A Worm
• Ridin’ Out
• Breaking Balls