Genre: Heavy Metal
Country: Sweden
Label High Roller Records
Year: 2016
Let’s imagine that for some reason, you missed the 2012 Demo, even though you’re a devotee to the sound. However, you don’t rely on Mr. Knowitall (who relies on your money) or any YouTuber, to provide you with new bands. Here’s what you’ll do; you’ll grab “Legion of the Night” and you’ll hit the play button on your record player, cd player, personal computer, really anything would work. In just a few seconds you will see what’s going on here.
The album’s first track “Sirius” starts with vocals that make you think of Johan Längquist… And yes, the rest of the record won’t disappoint you. Jonah Quizz, Heavy Load, Gotham City, Mindless Sinner… Everything’s here, acting as a source of inspiration for the Swedes, who are proven to be worthy continuers of the tradition of their music ancestors. Guitars full of melody, sweet melancholy to the limit and a voice that even though it’s not the best voice in the world, it haunts you. Great tracks that seem to be drawn from the glory days of the past and I sincerely don’t know which one is the best. ‘Rosier’, ‘Night of the Witch’ (the lyrics are based on Swedish mythology, where a witch travels to a mythic place called “Blåkulla” and dines with the Devil), ‘Nattsvart’ (which translates into “as black as the night” but can be used as another word for “exasperating” , while the lyrics are sung in Swedish, which is really pleasant to my ears and fits perfectly the style / worthy of mentioning is the fact that there’s a band with the same name and with a sole release of ‘Vargarna / Drakens Öga’, Single 1983). “Warrior” or “Sirius” are great tracks, as well. Naturally, we can hear some Maiden “loans” (at the closure of the record and the basic riff of “Demon From The Past”, which is yet another amazing track).
This makes sense; traditional Swedish heavy metal plus N.W.O.B.H.M. equals a solid package. I cannot find any weak spots; not even the somewhat cliché lyrics (although the occult themes are quite interesting), or the mediocre cover art… In addition, the production of the record (handled by Olof Wikstarnd, frontman of Enforcer) has managed to capture the magic sense of another era, without restraining itself in a retro prism. Buy or die!!
5/6