Deicide - Legion

Deicide - Legion

Death Metal

1992 Roadrunner Records

Legion. In my opinion Deicide never made a better album than this. They made a couple of decent ones afterwards, but in my opinion this album is the zenith that they never reached again. Especially when considering the joke they've become now with half baked albums like "Til Death Do Us Part" that bored the hell out of me, in a way it makes me appreciate this album even more. This is flawless, supreme brutal death metal possessed of an unmatchable, furious and primal energy. At just under half an hour in length, it doesn't outstay its welcome either. The hilarious thing is, I heard they had to record this one *twice* as the original version was *too fast*! I would love to hear that version, languishing in some archive somewhere or potentially lost forever. Then again, it could just be a myth..

So what makes Legion so good? Its basically the first album on steroids. Everything that made the self titled so wickedly great is intensified twice over here. The speed, the aggression, the atmosphere, everything. After a creepy and somewhat humorous intro of bleating goats and reversed speech, the first riff of Satan Spawn grabs you by the head and slams you into the nearest hard surface. If you aren't fully sold by this point, I suggest you give up now and move on to tamer things. This one song may be the best Deicide song ever. On the whole album, the riffs are catchy and brutal as hell. The drums are merciless as expected from Steve. Glen's bass (though the rumour is he didn't actually play it himself) is the best its ever been, nicely audible for a change and delightfully revolting in tone, following the guitars but adding so much by its mere presence. His vocals are also his best performance in my opinion, you'd think he was a conduit for Lucifer himself! His lyrics are also a damn sight better than they are now.

The music is probably the most complex this band ever created, its funny to watch their devolution on the next album which, while by no means terrible,  sounds positively tired next to this one. They hardly play anything from this live now, either. Tracks 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 are the strongest I think. Fans of quality death metal cannot afford to miss out on this. Don't let their later decline in quality fool you. At this stage in their career, Deicide were a force to be reckoned with. This has been a steadfast favourite of mine for many years now, and will be for years to come.

"Evil unwind...
Exit the womb, your life is mine."