New York-based Valence take instrumental progressive metal to new heights through their eclectic compositions and energetic live show. The band joins styles of music that are often thought of as disparate: a fusion of metal, jam, classical, jazz, and more. This varied yet cohesive confluence offers every listener a passport to a new state of mind that is cerebral, available, and emotive. They won an Independent Music Award for "The Reckoning," off of their 2014 EP, Laser Baron, the follow up to their 2012 debut Sleepwalker. Heavy Blog is Heavy describes their music as "well made, passionate, and considerate instrumental progressive metal, very obviously indebted to the classics but also dedicated to sounding like its own thing."

 

Between the awards and rave reviews, the band has developed a reputation as a crushing force in the New York music scene and beyond.  They’ve played music festivals including ProgDay and NXNE, official after-parties for Dream Theater, Clutch, and The Sword at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY, as well as opening for acts such as Scale the Summit, Consider the Source, Black Crown Initiate, and Car Bomb.

 

The band released their latest full length record, Cognitive Dissidents, on April 12, 2019.  Metal Injection debuted the first single “Damnit, Lana” and accompanying video in February of that year, while Gear Gods premiered a full band play through of the second single, “Preferred Nomenclature” that March, writing “there are no moments that make you wish this track had vocals, which says something about both the melodic content of the song and Valence’s ability to craft a well-thought-out and substantial piece of music.” PopMatters streamed the full album for its premiere, calling it a “relentlessly intricate and unpredictable—yet remarkably unified and welcoming—bit of wordless storytelling that will captivate fans of progressive rock.”