According to Valensorow’s lead vocalist, Joseph Scanlan, his band’s last full-length album—the sprawling and ambitious Neptus—took longer to complete than anticipated.

Surely the album was held back by the complex arrangements, and the difficulty that comes along with nailing highly technical drum fills and lightning-fast guitar runs. But there was another reason the record was held up: role-playing video games, such as Zelda and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

“We’re all a bunch of RPG nerds,” says Noah McLean, Valensorow’s bassist.

It makes perfect sense, considering the San Jose band bills itself as “the musical story of an ancient clan of warriors, their battles on Earth, and their quest for immortality in the afterlife.” In fact, it could be argued that the Valensorow wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the very games that sometimes interfere with rehearsal and the recording process.

The band is influenced by the aesthetics of fantasy, as well as Nordic and Scandinavian folklore: swords, dragons, magic spells, enchanted forests and the perpetual struggle between good and evil. On stage they often smear their faces and bodies with war paint, in an attempt to resemble a band of marauding Vikings—and their songs follow suit.

“New Jericho,” the fourth track from Valensorow’s 2013 release, Neptus, features synth horns trumpeting a rousing chord progression over brutal double-bass-drum blasts and palm-muted guitars. It’s a call to war—conjuring an image of mounted crusaders sacking a medieval city.

“Dirge of the Dying,” a far more melodic track, immediately follows. “We are men of the sword and the hammer,” the band members sing in unison, recalling “Far Over The Misty Mountains Cold,” the song sung by Thorin Oakenshield and company at the start of The Hobbit. “We’re warriors from battles beyond/and now I lay on the forest floor as my soul flies on to the morn.”

Sure, it’s nerdy, Scanlan and McLean say, but it’s also unpretentious.

“Metal has claimed to be an all-inclusive genre,” McLean says. “But over the years I’ve seen the scene divide itself so much. It’s a shame.”

You won’t get any of that at a Valensorow show, McLean insists, explaining that he and the rest of the band take their music seriously, but above all else, they are in it to have fun.

“We don’t have to say we’re ‘thrash metal’ or ‘death metal,’ he says. “It’s really refreshing when you see someone just having fun and not caring who is there.”

Scanlan agrees, adding that writing lyrics for a “folk metal” group allows him “complete creative freedom” to tell wild stories. “As the vocalist, the songwriting aspect of it, leaves nothing off the table,” he says. “It gives it a very unique sound and it’s a blast to play.”

And it’s a blast to listen to and participate in, if Valensorow’s fans are any indication. According to McLean, fans now show up to concerts decked out in face paint and fake blood, ready and willing to be enveloped by the story.

Valensorow recently finished recording their follow-up to Neptus. They plan to release The Battle of Oak Mountain this summer. They will play songs from the new record Feb. 28 at O’Malley’s in Mountain View. The Pin Up Production show also features San Jose acts Rivals, Covet and Sea in the Sky, along with Walnut Creek’s rock & roll-meets-hardcore riot She’s an Animal.

Valensorow recorded Oak Mountain in the same studio as Neptus—dB Sound Studios in Morgan Hill. However, unlike on the previous record, Valensorow focused on using live instruments wherever possible. The LP features accordion, saxophone, flute, penny whistle, mandolin, djembe and cello, to name a few.

Many of those instruments are played by the band’s chief songwriter and leader, Conner Bruce—who started the band as a side project back in 2011. “He plays like 12 instruments,” McLean says.

Oak Mountain also brings in more genres and sounds into the mix—even elements of Western, McLean says.

“It’s a big melting pot of things we nerded out on,” Scanlan says of the new album. “It’s really fun and really awesome to be able to incorporate those things and not have to worry about ‘Oh these guys aren’t real thrash, these guys aren’t real speed metal.’”

As on the first record, the second LP will tell a story. According to Scanlan, it tells the tale of two supernatural warriors—a “forest warrior” and a “being from the darkness” who are fighting for immortality.

Metal, bro. Fucking metal.

Valensorow play O’Malley’s Sports Pub in Mountain View with Covet, She’s an Animal, and Rivals on Feb. 28 at 8pm. More info.

In addition to hip-hop and DJ performances, Milano in downtown San Jose will host rock and heavy metal shows starting in June.

Mike Beard, one of the former promoters at the Avalon, has just booked a handful of rock and metal shows at Milano Nightclub starting Friday June 7th.

The first show features five local bands: Potential Threat, Six Weeks Sober, Mukagee, Mudface and Silent Sinner. Additionally, Beard has also already booked shows at Milano in July and August. This effort to get Milano off the ground as a live music venue is being driven by Pross Fernando, another former promoter at the Avalon, who is currently one of the managers at Milano.

“I didn’t really pick the Milano,” Beard explains. “The Milano picked me by Pross calling me, as we both worked at the old Avalon in Santa Clara together. It is a fresh new place, and it’s in the South Bay. Anything to do with my home area and any new place wanting to open its door up to rock/metal, I am down to help and try to do my part to keep the live rock/metal bands playing at venues anywhere they are wanted,” Beard says.

While Beard always booked rock shows at the Avalon, Fernando used to promote hip-hop shows there. He plans to continue that at Milano by booking rappers and DJs, while Beard books rock bands. The rock show, for now, are on every first Friday of the month. If all goes well, there could be more added to the Milano scheduled in the future.

The first rock show at Milano will be on Friday June 7th at 8pm. Tickets are $10.

Zack Alves has been tearing up South Bay clubs for over a decade with his band Rivals. Originally a positive-hardcore band, their most recent album We Live Electric shifts gears and moves in the direction of old school punk rock in the vein of the Misfits.

Rivals have become infamous in the South Bay for their crazy, energetic shows, particularly their annual Halloween shows, complete with a killer costume contest. They they return to the stage at Blank Club on July 7th, opening up for the Flames. We asked guitarist Zack Alves to give us his insight into San Jose.

What part of San Jose are you from and what’s cool about it?
I was born and raised in the Berryessa area of East San Jose, and my band Rivals practices near Alum Rock park. I love the East Foothills; it still looks a lot like it did back when I was growing up there in the 80s, with undeveloped lots, rolling hills and rad mid-century homes.

What’s your favorite place outside of San Jose?
I really like Hawaii. I’ve been told that it’s the only place that people have seen me relax.

What’s the best show you’ve seen in San Jose?
My fondest memories of shows in San Jose are from the late 90s, when the SoFA District, including the Cactus Club, was the place to be to see the area’s best bands. One show that stands out in particular was one of the SoFA festivals where Dredg rocked the Cactus, Onelinedrawing played in front of the Metro building and most every club featured an awesome local band. I remember leaving the festival totally inspired.

What is your favorite local band/musician?
Relapse. They are awesome, weird and heavy. I mean, what other bands are rocking guitar talk-boxes right now? We’ve become very close friends with these guys over the years. Last year, I sat in with them to do a cover of “Those Shoes” from the Eagles. It was random and fun as hell. Our singer Matt Reed is also doing a project with them called “Ray Frankly.”

What’s your favorite place to get a drink in SJ?
Taqueria Tlaquepaque off Curtner Ave. I can’t pronounce the name, but nothing beats an ice cold Chavela on a hot San Jose day.

Where’s a cool spot to get clothes?

My style is fairly simple—rock T-shirt, comfy jeans or Dickies shorts, Converse or Vans. I’m always on the hunt for better deals on my “uniform.” Tilly’s of Blossom Hill, Lucky Brand Jeans at Oakridge, local shows for my rock shirts.

What’s your favorite spot for a cheap meal in SJ?
Super Taqueria. Did you know that they will grill your burrito for a few extra cents?

What’s the best thing about living in SJ?
It’s close to everything—an hour on the road could get you to the beach, at a show in SF, or record shopping in Campbell.

Where’s the best place in San Jose to go relax?
It sounds weird, but the San Jose Flea Market. I have been repeating the ritual for years. I wake up early on a weekend and spend the morning wandering the flea market digging for retro junk, instruments, old school video games and records. I get in a zone and my brain just shuts off.

Where’s the best place to see a show in SJ?
It depends on the show. I love the in-your-face element of the Caravan, but the Blank Club has been the most consistent local venue that San Jose has seen in a long time.

What’s San Jose’s best kept secret?

Freshly Baked Eatery off N. 3rd Street. My fiancé hyped up this place to the point where I almost didn’t want to go in fear of being totally disappointed—it was anything but. They are only open for four hours a day during lunch, and the lines are long, but it’s a small price to pay for the best damn sandwich on freshly baked bread you’ll ever have.

The Rivals play the Blank Club in July 7th at 9p. Tickets are $8.