I confess, I laughed out loud the first time I listened to this record in the store. Young Mr. Belanger really sounds like he's shitting metal-plated porcupines on crack in the first few lines of the otherwise decent "You Have To Pay". Dave Mustaine ear yer heart out. Luckily he calmes down a bit later on and his juvenile, nasal screech gets quite tolerable, even charming after a few spins. The same goes for the album as a whole. It sounds like a total mess the first time, but it really grows on you after more than a few listenings, and suddenly one day you catch yourself humming along to the intense, almost thrash-like "Spoiled Rotten", or the excellent power-metallic "The Weak Must Die". When that last chorus goes into climax and the now since-long-forgiven Dave does this... well, you've got to hear it yourself. I'm not 100% sure of that title though. It says "Legion Of Deth" on the edge of the sleave and I belive this was the name of the band up until the album. I've also seen it listed like that, so I guess that's the official, unofficial title. The production is primitive to say the least, a 4-track basement rehearsal feel, but is free from particularly annoying details like a shitty guitarsound, a too high snare or the likes. Musically it could be the unheard, pre-"Hit the lights" METALLICA-demos*, raw, hard metal not quite thrash, but in process of inventing it. SAVAGE / SWEET SAVAGE / BLITZKRIEG-like NWOBHM-style metal played by underaged American white trash. They could be the best band Ebony Records never released, but with good music. Yes, the sleave is one ugly fucker, but I guess that's why I bothered to come back to this record again and again. It's in the nature of a depraved metalhead like me to revel in filth and ugliness. The cover and the band's tacky wardrobe may scare away most orthodox True Metal fans, and those who passed this first ordeal will have a hard time with the aforementined production, but what can you expect when guitars & drums hasn't sounded like guitars & drums on most metal records for the last 10 years. Of course sound, conservative Metal values will grow corrupted! That's sad because LEGION had something that is far more important in Metal than a millon-dollar budget and good looks: Passion. They were young, dumb & full of cum and more or less a blueprint for what I lovingly use to call "Brat Metal". On a good day they're almost as great as DEVIL CHILDE.
*=just an expression, no mails from frustrated METALLICA-fans please.


Listen to this record here. (provided by the Vibrations Of Doom webzine)