FEATURE: Baltimore Hard Rock Group Red Valley Nursery Live For The Chaos On Debut Self-Titled EP

Baltimore-based hard rock grunge group Red Valley Nursery have been tearing up live shows and writing ’90s-inspired guitar riffs for a number of years. The four friends headed into the studio to record what would become their debut EP Red Valley Nursery. Six tracks of riff-heavy hard rock, the new RVN release travels back in time with its gritty sound and

“Most of the songs from the record stem from old tracks I had in my late teens. There was something about them I just couldn’t let go of. When the guys in RVN and I started playing together, these songs fell in line like they’ve always lived there with us. The album itself doesn’t necessarily have a theme, it’s all a bit unstable, chaotic, and raw. And I like that, there’s something about that uncertainty that I find super attractive”, shares the band’s Steven Thomas.

Starting off strong, tracks like “Dopamine Machine”, “Failure”, and especially “Gazpacho” bring out elements of Queens of the Stone Age, with its melodic, dark energy, while the fuzz-filled distortion that is found across the record nods to the likes of The Melvins and Alice in Chains. Of course, working with an engineer/producer who was part of a number of great releases from the ’90s/’00s will help. “We had the pleasure of working with Drew Mazurek (Foo Fighters, LCD Soundsystem, Jawbox) on the record”, Steven adds. “He took those grooves and dirty tones and just locked them in. It’s surreal to see them finally take form after all these years and I’m elated to finally share them.”

Frantic, fiery, and unforgiving, the six track EP is a strong polished look into the band’s discography, with more tracks to be discovered from their energetic live shows.

Listen to the record below, and get to know the band in more detail in the new Q&A:

How did Red Valley Nursery come together? And where did the name come from? 

We met through the 98 Rock Baltimore music scene. Everyone played in different bands but we all knew of each other. We collaborated for some live events and found common ground in the music we enjoyed. One thing led to another and we started making noise together. 

Steven: The name was a twist on a landscaping company I used to work for. I didn’t want to fuck with any of their web traffic so I swapped some words around and RVN was born. We always wanted something a bit odd so it worked well for us. 

How do you feel about having your debut album out into the world? 

It feels like having a third cock, ya know? Exhausting, sometimes terrifying, but in the end, satisfying.

But seriously, it was such a unique experience to capture together and we couldn’t be happier with the end result. We worked endlessly on nailing the feel and sound with Drew Mazurek, who shined the teeth we wanted to display. Very proud to share it with everyone.

A lot of your discography has been kept to live shows and demos. What should new fans expect from your music? 

Contained chaos. This is raw, dirty, and tasty. It really captures the blunt introduction we intended. If you like riffs and grooves, we got you. 

There’s a lot of ‘90s grunge influence to the record. Is there a band from that era that you would want to hit the road with to tour the new album? 

Shit…the list is long. Off the top of my head, The Melvins and Toadies are big ones for us. Bands like that are the equivalent of lighting in a bottle. Their live performances are fuckin fantastic and their albums are milestones for the rock world. 

The holidays are around the corner and I think longtime fans are wondering if you’ll be bringing back the RVN advent calendar this year. 

Potentially! We enjoyed doing it and have never been short on dumb ideas.

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