Legions Of The Night are a power metal band from Germany formed in 2020, releasing their debut album ‘Sorrow Is The Cure’ in 2021 and sophomore album ‘Hell’ in 2022…
…maintaining an incredible five-decade line of astounding power metal bands to emerge from Germany. Pioneering power metal band Accept began Germany’s legacy way back in 1979 with their self-titled debut album – and over forty years later, Legions Of The Night are emphatically continuing the rich heritage of a country that also boasts thrash metal as one of its leading exports. However, it is firmly in the power metal arena that we stand right now – with the twelve songs, one-hour-long, new album from guitarist Jens Faber (Dawn Of Destiny, Malefistum), drummer Philipp Bock (Dawn Of Destiny), and vocalist Henning Basse (ex Metalium, ex Firewind) – collectively, better known as Legions Of The Night! Opening song ‘Who Will Believe In Me’ glides in gently on the crest of sublime keyboards – bursting into life with a thunderous attitude! And as ‘Who Will Believe In Me’ progresses, there are gear and tempo changes, passages of majestic swagger, and a like-ability that’s simply second to none.
So after such a barnstorming opening salvo – just how do you follow that? With the much heavier ‘Evil’, that’s what! Thunder, fire, and brimstone boil over as Legions Of The Night heavy things up, crossing the border to bring a little traditional heavy metal to the fore. Yet the majestic swagger of the opening song remains. The band stormed out the blocks and never looked back. The title song ‘Hell’ smoulders into view, loaded with a menace not heard across the albums opening double shot. Picking up the pace after a minute or so, the band introduce a heavy-hitting anthemic stance – varying the styles, but remaining one hundred percent power comes traditional metal motivated.
Oozing the iconic sound of the legendary NWOBHM evolution, ‘Run Faster’ continues to mix the metal styles, Legions Of The Night proving to be a very heavy, power-metal outfit. The synonymous characteristics of power metal (normally) are high-pitched vocals, screaming guitar riffs and some symphonic metal elements too – but in the case of these German metallers, the first two have been shelved in favour of a heaviness more associated with the heavier end of the heavy metal genre. And that’s no bad thing – the band moving stealthily on with the six-minute plus ‘The Memory Remains’, and an Iron Maiden-Esque epic and anticipation fuelled intro. The mid-tempo majesty of ‘The Memory Remains’ is big and bold, the sweeping melody magnificent, keeping your attention from the first second to the very last. Planting their foot firmly on the accelerator, Legions Of The Night let fly with the fast and furious ‘Fury’ – forging forward with an urgency not yet heard. The headbangers of the world are gonna love this one, as well as the mosh pits too!
Resuming the mid-tempo menace of earlier, ‘Save Us’ stomps into life and delivers a big, bold, and brash barrage of doom-laden Dio-like mastery. The band continues their want to run around the heavy metal genre, occasionally pulling inspiration from other genres – making for one helluva great listening. Even with all my years of metal – bordering on forty – I’m having trouble guessing which way ‘Hell’ (the album) will turn next! And into ballad territory was not the turning I was expecting either – ‘And The World Has Lost This Fight’ spending the first fifty seconds setting you up for a lighter in the air moment. And then boom, bang and thud, heaviness crashes in, and the band deliver one of the heaviest songs heard so far. Add to that an anthemic nature, and we have yet another different style from a band not afraid to mix it up. Menace and aggression return in full force with ‘Demons’, lurching forth with a scariness that may send a few listeners diving for cover. I really can’t emphasise enough how heavy this album is!
Another sublime keyboard intro mixed with a soulful vocal performance, and ‘Times Of Despair’ definitely looks and sounds like an impending ballad. And I’d be right…with regular readers knowing exactly what I’m about to say! However, given the heaviness of the album up to this point – a breather is very welcome. So get your lighters out and hold them high in salute to a ballad that chimes in just at the right time. So let’s get back to the devastating heaviness that Legions Of The Night are making their trademark – ‘Our Bleeding’ melding doom heavy with traditional metal and passages of blistering speed. What an album this has been, coming to an end with a cover of the Savatage classic ‘When The Crowds Are Gone’ – taken from the band’s 1989 album ‘Gutter Ballet’. The epic atmosphere of balladry mixed with hymn-like leanings is perfectly recreated by the German metallers, delivering a sparkling version of a song from one of the first ever bands to introduce progressive and symphonic metal to the world.
Overall, a thunderous and thoroughly enjoyable hour of power, symphonic, and traditional metal.
TRACKLIST
Who Will Believe In Me
Exit
Hell
Run Faster
The Memory Remains
Fury
Save Us
And The World Has Lost This Fight
Demons
Times Of Despair
Our Bleeding
When The Crowds Are Gone
Legions Of The Night: Facebook
Release Year: 2022
Label: Pride & Joy Music
Category: Album
Country: Germany
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire, and Metal-Roos.
