In my blog about old school death metal bands i mentioned Deicide who are considered the GOAT's by many people. I said how i listened to their debut and thought it was good and briefly mentioned how i found it hard to belive their second album (which we'll be talking about today) is the best selling death metal album of all time, a fact that i suddenly can't find anywhere as if it's a fragment of my imagination. Anyways, I listened to it considering it's only 30 minutes long and i had nothing better to do. So let's talk about it!
Legion was recorded at Morrisound Recording, Tampa, Florida which seems to be the go-to place for many death metal bands. Florida in general was thriving during the late 80s and 90s when it came to death metal, only being rivaled by Sweden. The album came out in june of 1992 and was released under R/C Records. The album artwork, designed by vocalist and bassist Glen Benton and brought to life by Scheffer Computer Graphics, is called a Trifixion which is also the name of a song found on the album. It's a pretty unique geometrical symbol with an inverted cross but i suck at geometry and math so I won't act like I know what im talking about. However, you can find the 2d flat version online
The album is very short, which is something that would be a staple of Deicide's career in their early years. There are 8 songs and i liked pretty much all of them, though the band says they're too technical to play live nowdays. I don't know about that but I do know that the riffs kick ass, the best being on the song In Hell I Burn. Another catchy song is Trifixion but as i said they're all pretty good. Both Eric Hoffman and Brian Hoffman show how it's done on the guitar, as they utilize tremolo picking and palm muting to deliver blasphemous sounds, and i only wish they played these songs live more, though i understand it. Imagine you create an album so fucking technical even you can't play it! Talk about being betrayed by your own creation!.
The drumming is also pretty good, same as Benton's bass but they struggle to compare with the guitars. Benton's vocals are another thing i mentioned i liked in my blog post, where i said i like his use of both deep and screeching vocals to deliver a sound of tormented souls being dragged across hell! Benton is the only person worthy of saying these lyrics as he delivers them in such hatred! There are many parts where he perfectly switches between the two, and while I was reading the lyrics i looked at the ones in advance and wondered which style he'll utilize next. The lyrics are full of blasphemy, Satan, and hatred for God but there is a little bit of mythology thrown in there. Personally i prefer their earlier lyrics which were a mix of run of the mill Satanism and ancient mythologies or book/movie references. That being said the lyrics don't offend me much as i just view them as artistic expression.
I very much enjoyed my time with Legion even if it was short! Sorta like what a husband says about his divorced wife. I look forward to listening to the third album Once upon the Cross whose review you might be able to read very soon. Anyways, i prefer it over the debut which is an album I'll have to re-listen to freshen up my memory, though I'll say even then my point will stand. This is an essential piece of death metal you should listen to! My standout tracks were: Dead but Dreaming and Repent to Die
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