The last few years have been kind to
USPM-revivalist bands. With the popularity of groups like Visigoth and Eternal
Champion, this barbaric style of heavy metal is making a comeback amongst
younger fans and it’s easy to see why, given its more aggressive stylings.
Legionnaire is the next in a long line of “hype” USPM-worship bands, despite
the group's Finnish descent. “Dawn of Genesis” marks their debut record, and is
a surefire winner for fans of Omen, Manilla Road and others.
The first of these aforementioned bands
sums up Legionnaire’s musical approach well. Much like Omen, they take early
Iron Maiden (think first two albums), and turn up the speed a few notches.
Legionnaire’s riffs are occasionally so quick that they border on speed metal.
Surprisingly, the band has their technical moments, such as some of the riffing
on “Shadow Upon the Metropolis”, but they never let this get in the way of
writing rock-solid, headbanging riffs. More predictably, the band is a huge fan
of harmonized guitars, and uses just about every excuse to saturate each track
with plenty of dueling leads. Another common characteristic of both Iron Maiden
and Omen are the galloping rhythms that dominate both bands’ catalogues, and
Legionnaire follows similar suits. Tracks like “Enigma of Time” and “The
Guardian” display galloping of the highest order.
Everything is sounding good so far, but
Legionnaire doesn’t make things quite so easy on the listener. The point of
contention on “Dawn of Genesis” for most listeners will be the vocals. The
band’s singer adopts an epic approach, aiming to make each lyric more
monumental than the last. The difficulty, however, is that he doesn’t always
pull it off. Some lines work incredibly well in this style, but at other times,
it feels like he misses the notes he’s trying to hit. Despite numerous listens
of this release, it’s unclear to me whether the band’s vocalist is a terrible
singer, or some sort of secret genius. Of course, if you like USPM and other
obscure heavy metal scenes, this likely won’t be a problem. Manilla Road
proved to everyone that you don’t need Bruce Dickinson fronting your band to be
successful. Sure, Legionnaire would probably be a lot better with an air raid
siren-style singer, but their current vocalist certainly fits the grand nature
of the band’s music.
On the whole, “Dawn of Genesis” almost
seems as if it’s a lost relic from the 1980s. Its flaws are almost solely
limited to the vocals, and they are really just another authentic homage to the
band’s influences. The songwriting is fairly strong throughout, and there aren’t
enough positive words to describe the guitar playing on this record. Though it
might not be as potent for me as some other comparables like Visigoth, it is
easy to see how this record could top many year-end lists. Overall, Legionnaire’s
debut record is a worthy contender for the modern USPM (but not from the US)
throne!
Highlights
"Shadow Upon The Metropolis"
"The Guardian"
"Dawn of Genesis"
Final Rating
4.0/5 or 80%.
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