Band:
Maurice Swinkels - Vocals
Richard Ebisch - Guitars
Harold Gielen - Bass
Erik Fleuren - Drums
Diskography:
Malevolent Rapture (2006)
Sons of the Jackal (2007)
Feel The Blade (2008)
Cult of the Dead (2008)
Info
Produced by Peter Tägtgren
Released 7/1-2011
Reviewed 31/1-2011
Links:
legionofthedamned.net
myspace
massacre
First of all it is a thrash metal album, with fast riffing and overall fast paced music. It is heavy music as well and it stays well within the set perimeters of said genre. There is not much in the music that would really make this band stand out, they do not make wild detours throughout the songs, it is just simple and straight thrash metal. There is a small thing about this band as the production sounds a bit cleaner than what is usual, and it is done in such a way that it does not make the album sound less heavy or anything like that. So stylistically there is not really much to set this band apart from other band’s in the genre.
It is an album that starts with the title track which is a good track to start with, but then again, any track on this album would have been a good starting track as the individual track quality is more or less equal throughout the album. And it has actually been a quite hard album to put a score on as one hand I really enjoy what I hear but on other hands I feel a but more critical of what I hear.
One reason for this previously mentioned criticism is that the album is missing a real hit song, that track that can define this album and also make you want to return to the album again and again, neon knights. But seriously, it is this fact that makes this album, no matter how good it sounds when you listen to it, into one of those that will go into the big pile of music that probably will not receive much more playing time now that the review is written.
I actually think that the band should have looked more at doing a real killer track for this album, now they will sort of drown in the very big pool of bands that already exist in this genre. I know some reviewers really love this and praise it to being the new this or that album but I feel it is a really good album that is well made well composed but still lacking that little bit extra that define the best of albums out there.
For me Legion of the Damned stays too much within set borders, I tend to enjoy more when bands stray a little outside the comfort zone of a set stylistic choice and that is something Legion of the Damned does not really do. Wether this lack of straying outside the box is due to the band not daring or anything else is not possible for me to know but for me it detriments from the positive feel I have for this album. Even so, if a 4.5 would be available to set I would have done it for this particular record that is very difficult to rate. I think thrash fanatics would give it a bit more positive reviews than I did.
Descent into Chaos is not as chaotic as the name would seem to indicate it is more a thrash album that stays within the confines of the genre and they do it well no doubt about that. But I still think that Legion of the Damned on this album is aiming at the moon but ending up just below the treetops and my rating still remains positive for this album.
Legion of the Damned and their Decent into Chaos is alright.
HHHHHHH
