A trivial footnote to New York’s new wave underground, the Corpse Grinders were a useless hard rock group formed in 1977 by ex-Brats guitarist Rick Rivets and ex-Dolls bassist Artie Kane (who didn’t stay for much of the Grinders’ year-long existence). The original quartet’s few recordings — which amount to badly dated sub-Dolls R&B-punk with impressively stupid lyrics — were posthumously compiled on The Legend, joining 1983 tracks by the reincarnated group.
The all-new Valley of Fear finds Rivets joining his Johnny Thunders-style guitar work and Bob Casper’s ivory-tinkling in a diverse assortment of originals and a pair of credibly played Stones covers. Although much of the album is given over to boppy vintage rock’n’roll and acoustic ballads, the title track breaks away for lightweight goth with a hooky chorus.