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Album · 2006
The Best of Valhala
A richly designed anniversary selection of Valhala's music.
The third album – The best of Valhala – was released to mark the thirteenth anniversary
of the band's formation and represents everything its title promises:
the finest compositions created during the years in which Valhala's music
began, matured and grew in its musical expression. At its
core, Valhala remains what it has always been: phenomenal music that
does not acknowledge time and, in its own way, stands above it – timeless,
because it combines the old with the new somewhere between rock, jazz, classical music and its
own unique expression. In every composition, their message is, in its own way,
the same in every time and place in which it is heard. The compositions are
a clear depiction of mythology, and the weight of their message is already expressed in
their titles: Poisoned Apple, Spell, Dance at the Court... The message
that the musicians convey through their exceptional mastery of their instruments
is in harmony with the name under which they perform and with the myths that
inspire them so deeply that they have blown the dust away from them.
In their own way, they
speak not only of the mythological Valhalla, where fallen heroes gather
in a hall of peace, love and final victory, but also of the Valhalla they wish
to reveal to everyone who listens to them – the Valhalla that we carry within ourselves and
which can become a refuge for anyone who has enough courage to face battles with themselves,
to discover it within and embrace what the ancient myths teach
through their stories of fundamental truths: about hope, light and faith in goodness,
which must never be extinguished! In
the spirit of this message, the musicians wish to bring into a world that seems dark
and hopeless the light of that Viking Valhalla which, even then, pointed toward
the very values that today – here and now – are still too often hidden in
darkness.
Valhala's music was and remains powerful, rich in the contrasts of tenderness
and passion, sometimes containing both within a single composition. Often
the music surprises with a sudden turn; sometimes it flows like a gentle stream,
while in the very next moment rising emotions lift it into a rhythm of passion,
until it grows into thunder, into the rhythm and pulse of an inner struggle... Valhala's music
is alive regardless of the place or space in which it is performed: in all
its power it can thunder with the help of electronics in large halls or
outdoors, while those very same compositions can take on an entirely different sonic character in
their acoustic dimension in castle foyers or beneath church
vaults. It feels at home everywhere, finds its place everywhere and at the same time remains everything
it has always been.
The anniversary album was released in 2006-07 as befits an anniversary album:
with lavish packaging, in a special format, accompanied by artistic
illustrations and the epic poem Herald of Valhalla on the back
cover.