Valesa – Chapter II: Viva the Apocalypse! by Major Parkinson
Release date: March 13, 2026Label: Degaton Records/Apollon Records
The sound of the Elevator going down in different floors, banging on the door, then music, cut to the sounds of cheers, applause, synthesizers sending in this epic-like boundary, knowing that the apocalypse is heading this way. For Major Parkinson, they have shown no sign of stopping by continuing the Valesa story with the second chapter released this year in time for Spring.
Their next album presents a darker, yet nightmarish world of American showbiz, fame coming at a heavy cost, and a chaotic view on the dark side of show business. For Parkinson, they blast through the night characterising the glitz and glamour of Hollywood in all of its glory, decaying dreams celebrities have, and the self-destruction that comes with it.
Major Parkinson have fired all of the cylinders here on Valesa II. You have the gospel textures, new wave vibrations, progressive orientations, and a sequel to Velvet Prison. This album portrays like a movie inside your head, viewing the downfall and its Day of the Locust-like atmosphere by building it up to its shocking climax. It is like a horror movie in disguise when you listen to the music and read the lyrics.
When you first hear that mariachi turned wah-wah funk behind ‘Superdad’, it becomes this celebrative momentum the Norwegian quintet heads towards by laying down the law, dancing across this massive fire they laid on the lawn, as it spreads like this black smoke, showing the decline of the character’s paranoia viewing its beauty and decay in all of its glory.
You have blaring guitar improvisations, Halie (Hannah Emilie Wright Grung) pouring her heart out in the lead vocals, sharing with Jon Ivar Kollbotn, knowing the danger and effects are about dwell in very quickly before getting into this ‘80s letter in this rapid spread to prepare for the end of the world on ‘Viva the Apocalypse!’ and its segueing punch with ‘The Doctor In Command’.
With its string-like keyboard section, trumpet and saxophones, the apocalypse choir, and terrifying rhythms, giving its proto-punk attitude with a ska-like groove, and its cat-and-mouse chase on the guitar going in this Tom & Jerry motif throughout the fret boards. When Elvind puts his bass on the loop for the introduction behind ‘Karma Supernova’ you know something dangerous is lurking around the corner.
Listening to this 8-minute hay-wiring composition, you can just imagine this track being used to portray this Goyaesque image brought to life, jumping at you with unexpected twists, leaping out of your seat, and being terrified. That’s what Major Parkinson is doing.
They want to scare listeners by giving them a wake-up call that what you read in the tabloids and what you see in those big Hollywood premieres, there’s something else behind closed doors they’re not allowed to talk about. Once they go into this fast-paced epic showdown, the quintet brings in the gauntlets of hell into this whirlpool of terror, making the celebrities do the dance of death in the middle of the Grand Canyon on a tightrope.
When Peri Winkle (whose real name is Claudia Cox) sings the last two tracks; ‘Maybelline’ and ‘Kiss Me Now!’, it’s her walking in the middle of this post-apocalyptic view of Los Angeles, seeing the decay and demise of its gruesome demise for a brief moment, then breathing life into this Thrash Metal-like roar with punched-up riffs, and spooky and ominous synths blaring out of nowhere.
I almost thought that Jon was about to do his Cookie-Monster growling vocals, but he and Peri sing in these extreme nods between Gojira, Captain Beefheart, and the Diablo Swing Orchestra rolled into one. That’s how batshit crazy the last two tracks are. How batshit crazy? Very batshit crazy! Up to a maximum of 500 electrical volts! Before ascending down with its tip of the hat to This Mortal Coil and Cocteau Twins.
It’s insane, in your face, and perhaps one of the maddest prog albums Major Parkinson has unleashed this year to let their listeners know, they might have more tricks up their sleeves in the years to come.
