Legion of the Damned

Cult of the Dead

Written by: AB on 14/12/2008 01:45:13

Legion of the Damned is Dutch band of the new old school thrash wave of metal. This usually results in an energy filled dose of crossover thrash rooted in both punk and metal; bands like Municipal Waste excel at this. Legion of the Damned has taken a little different approach in their efforts to reawaken thrash however, as they play aggressive death/thrash that both reminds one of death metal's infant years as well as the happy days of early thrash. Even though the music is a little heavier or more aggressive than the norm of their genre, LotD is still a band that is both fast and energetic, hardworking too; these deathly thrashers are gonna release their fourth album since their formation 2005 in a week or so.

This forthcoming newest offering, "Cult of the Dead", starts out with an 'atmospheric intro', which is just a lame excuse for some lame ominous reciting about denying the lord on the cross and about the evilness of 'the cult of the dead' etc., which, truth be told, doesn't bode well. However, all is forgotten and forgiven when the real music starts off with song number two, "Pray and Suffer", a pure thrash assault that kicks you straight in the teeth with riffs, drums and an unholy snarl that almost reminds one of the really early Max Cavalera growls from Sepultura's legendary death/black/thrash record "Morbid Vision". Almost. It sure makes you want to headbang and thrash around, drink beers and mosh about though.

From there, the music changes little, if any. The riffs pummel the music forwards at a fast pace, and even though it's clear that the guitar's handled well, we're helped to nothing extraordinary or spectacular. They sure know how to shred, but what jumps in one's eye is the almost complete lack of solos. The number of these throughout the record can easily be counted using only a few fingers, and the solos are boring, adding neither something to the mood of the song, a flashy view of an impressive technical level, nor just plain coolness. And when the few solos finally are there, they are pushed to the background in the mix, sounding incredibly thin and distant. And that's from a band that compares itself to early Slayer!

I can imagine these guys to be pretty cool live. On record though, none of the songs or the instruments vary enough to make this interesting as anything else than background music for drinking a few (wait, make that many) beers with your mates before you put on some Slayer and air-guitar around headbanging.

Download: Black Templar, Pray And Suffer, Cult Of The Dead
For the fans of: Early Slayer, really early Sepultura
Listen: MySpace

Release date 19.12.2008
Massacre Records

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