Legions Of War/Honour To The Past/Inferno Records/2016 EP Review

  Legions  Of  War  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  war  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep   'Honour  To  The  Past"  which  was  released  by  Inferno  Records  and  consists  of  all  cover  tunes.

  A  cover  of  Judas  priest's  "Hell  Patrol"  starts  off  the  ep  which  starts  off  with  a  heavy  riff  and  after  a  few  seconds  black  metal  screams  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  this  version  is  a  lot  more  heavier  than  the  original  and  you  can also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  melodic  vocals  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Next  up  is  a  cover  of  Gary  Moore's  "Out  In  The  Fields"  which  uses  a  great  amount  of  melodic  guitar  leads  and  the  song  has  a  very  catchy  chorus  and  the  song  also  has  a  classic  rock  vibe  but  done  with  a  more  blackened  approach  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  blast  beats, next  cover  song  is  Stormwitch's  "Walpurgis  Night"  and  the  riffs  bring  in  a  lot  of  NWOBHM  elements  while  also  throwing  in  a  small  amount  of  power  metal  screams  and  both t he  riffs  and  leads  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  classical  guitars.

  Next  song  is  Motorhead's  "Killed  By  Death"  which  is  very  close  to  the  original  but  done  with  more  of  a  fast  and  heavier  style  and  the  band  also  mixes  their  sound  in  with the  original  and  they  close  the  ep  with  a  cover  of  Wasp's  "Hellion"  which  also  has  more  of  a  raw  sound  than  the  original  version  while  also  taking  the  song  into  a  heavier  direction.

  Legions  Of  War  take  5  songs  on  this  recording  from  classic  metal  bands  that  have  influenced  their  music  and  mixes  it  in  with  their  blackened  war/thrash  metal  style  and  the  production  also  has  a  very  professional  sound.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great sounding  recording  from  Legions  Of  War  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  and  thrash  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hell Patrol"  and  "Hellion".  8  out  of  10.

https://soundcloud.com/infernorecords666/legions-of-war-medley-for-upcoming-epcd-honour-to-the-past (medley) and/or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPs013Gbdb4 ("Out In The Fields" - Gary Moore cover).   

Legions Of War Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
Hello OccultBlackMetalZine!! Thanks for showing interest in Legions of war! Well, it just been out for some weeks so we have just have done a few rehearsals since the release and will now start to make up some new songs. Hopefully there will be a few  gigs to promote the record too.

2.Recently you have released a new album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction it has taken and also how does it differ from previous releases?

Well, “Forced to the ground” is much more melodic, heavier and got a better sound then our debut album “Towards death”. I think you can say that we have developed the sound from the single which showed a more melodic side. It also contains some acoustic parts as well as some piano which is a new side of Legions of war. Besides from that I think we are true to our sound. Blackened thrashing war metal!

3.It has been 4 years since the release of a full album, can you tell us what was going on during those years other than the single you put out in 2011?

Gang banging all our groupies! No, seriously, the usual things which means, beer drinking, rehearsals, songwriting, a few gigs and such stuff.

4.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical content of the new album and also how would you describe your progress as song writers over the years?

The theme is about war as well as on our previous releases. All quiet on the western front......The songs Forced to the ground and Pile of corpse are a short “story” about a pilot who´s plane got shut down behind enemy lines and the pilot been forced to hide away from the enemy troops which search for him. The front cover is also supposed to describe that story. We put together our songs in the rehearsal room together with a few beers. I write the lyrics and then the other show the riff they have come up with and together we emerge the songs.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Legions Of War?

It’s just a name which suites what we write about. It´s no higher purposes behind it.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Well, there hasn´t been so many shows. We play live about two times a year often because of lack of time. We got families, full time jobs and such stuff. But when we do we put in a lot of energy! It´s really fun to be at stage! We also use to decorate with stuff like gas masks, camouflage net, chains to get a nice feeling while being at stage. Some shows has started with alot of smoke so the audience can`t see the band and then some of us wear gas masks during the first songs. Our last gig at a little bar in our neighborhoods together with Grief of emerald was real cool!

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new release?

Nope, not yet.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to the newer material by fans of black, war and thrash metal?

Those reviews that Fabien from Inferno records has sent us from the magazines he´s been in touch with has been very good so far. Some interviews had also start to coming in and that’s always nice! A big thanks to you and other metalheads/reporters who keep the Metal underground alive!!


9.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

I think we will keep on follow the path we started with. Personally I like band that try to keep their sound and style intact but with some slightly different from album to album. Hopefully our listeners will hear a development between our releases but still recognize us as Legions of war.

10.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I guess all of us in the band still are influenced by the old music and bands that we´re always have listen to. I don’t think it have changed to our last album “Forced to the ground”. From my personal view I´m into old eighties metal like Motorhead, Manowar, Accept, King Diamond, Heavy load, Venom, Kreator, Sodom, Slayer and those great old heroes! But also some “blackier and deathier” stuff like Dissection, Lord Belial, Pagan Rites, Arch Enemy, Witchery, Children of Bodom too mention a few. Sometimes I can be in mood for some punk stuff like Cocksparrer and Anticimex. The last records I bought are Grief of Emeralds last album as well as Protectors comeback record. Well, I could go on forever!

11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Hehe, Is there a life besides from music, concerts and records? Well, I like to take a walk in the forests and sometimes hunting with my rifle, reading books…ordinary stuff….

12.Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Thanks for the interview and showing interest in LEGIONS OF WAR!!

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Legions Of War/Forced To The Ground/Inferno Records/2013 CD Review

  Legions  Of  War  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  war  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Forced  to  The  Ground"  which  was  released  by  Inferno  Records.

  The  album  starts  off  with  an  intro  that  has  the  sounds  of  war  stomping  along  with  some  synths  as  well  as  some  heavy  and  melodic  guitar  riffing  and  drums  before  going  into  a  fast  melodic  black  metal  assault  along  with  high  pitched  screams  and  a  few  seconds  later  guitar  solos  are  added  into  the  music  in  certain  parts  as  well  as  being  diverse  along  with  a  mixture  of  slow  and  fast  parts   and  then  the  thrash  influences  start  to  kick  in  and  really  start  to  take  over  on  the  next  song.

  When  the  music  is  in  black/thrash  mode  it  really  starts  to  kick  in  gear  and  it  never  goes  away  from  the  black  metal  and  the  mixture  of  black  and  thrash  metal  are  a  very  great  strong  point  on  the recording  and  the  music  starts  also  incorporating  classic  metal  elements,  and  as  the  album  progresses  it  starts  also  going  into  a  melodic  black  metal  direction  to  create  a  true  and  diverse  metal  record.

  Once  we  get  into  the  fourth  song  classical  guitars  are  added  in  as  an  intro  before  going  into  a  melodic  and  old  school  metal  direction  as  well  as  adding  in  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  once  the  black  metal  parts  kick  in  the  music  starts  reminding  me  of  what  Dissection  would  of  sounded  like  if  they  where  more  thrash  influenced.

  The  album  really  starts  getting  more  diverse  as  time  goes  on  by  one  minute  the  music  will  be  an  all  out  thrash  assault  and  then  it  stops  with  some  depressing  sounding  keyboards,  acoustic  guitars  and  melodic  guitar  leads  before  making  a  return  to  being  heavy  again  and  I  can  hear  some  King  Diamond  and  Mercyful  Fate  influences  being  used  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  the  screams  also  bring  back  memories  of  Bewitched  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  psychedelic  sounding  keyboards.

  One  of  the  main  strengths  this  band  has  is  that  every  song  sounds  different  from  each  other  and  it  only  sticks  to  true  elements  which  is  actually  a  great  thing  and  I  can  see  this  album  making  this  band  very  well  known  in  the  metal  genre.

  Song  lyrics  cover  war  and  violence  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  professional.  and  heavy  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Legions  Of  War  are  a  very  great  sounding mixture  of  war,  melodic  black  metal  and  thrash  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Forced  To  The  Ground"  "At  the  Eastern  Shores"  and  "In  The  Warfield  Storms".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TBR5b3TemA