#LastLegion Metall, Blod & Aska

Band: Last Legion
Title: Metall, Blod & Aska
Label: Grind to Death Records
Release date:  17 February 2023
Country: Sweden
Format reviewed: High-quality Digital Recording 

Never heard of Last Legion before, but as soon as I started listening to the promo and I saw the high level of energy in the opener song, I thought to myself that I was in front of something big. And I was right. Last Legion hails from Västra Götaland, a Swedish province that’s also the homeland of Grift, Åskog, Sarcator, Lost Horizon, Nifelheim… to name a few bands. And of course, At The Gates and Dark Tranquillity. Under the label of Grind to Death Records, who can resist? … Anyway, Swedish Metal never disappoints. 

Last Legion lineup is:
Christian Larsson – guitars
Olle Olsson – vocals
Andreas Berglund – bass
Tomas Jeppsson – drums

“Metall, Blod & Aska” opens with the namesake song, a great first attack. Very good vibes, tunes infesting your brain along with dark and rotten vocals, yeah that’s the kind of voice I was expecting to hear: gritty, ultra harsh, it seems like Olle is tearing out his throat in a very wild way. And I love this: aggressive voice for dark and aggressive music. Perfect pairing. The following “Dödens Falang” keeps the same path: strings and drums both matching for a belligerent wall of sound, and the vocals tell me stories about… war? I don’t understand the lyrics as Olle sings in Swedish, but that’s what I feel listening to this song. Attending the cover art (done by Olle Olsson himself), I must be right. And the halfway soft passage is like a truce in the middle of a battle: a soft and calm guitar tune with some keys, and then war explodes again… 

Oh yes, if I wasn’t totally sure, now I am: “När Kriget Kommer” (“When the War Comes”) throws you mercilessly in the middle of the battlefield with the sound of an air raid siren, bombs, terrified screams and that marching snare… This is a mostly instrumental piece, apart from the monochord speech in the beginning. Yeah, it’s total war now. The special use of keys in this song gives me goosebumps.

There are still 5 more tracks until the 35 minutes of this album are complete, “Pansarmarsch” starts with an insane scream… and all the time I’m thinking of  Daniel Rostén, mighty vocalist in Marduk and also in Funeral Mist. I use to avoid comparisons but in this case I had to do it: Olle’s vocals bring that man to my mind (ears, in this case), due to its similar aggressive and extra harsh sound… and that’s not a bad thing at all! I just had to mention it. 

Don’t expect to find great guitar solos in this album, but expect really infesting riffs and tunes. You’ll be also rewarded with high energy pummeling drums, Tomas has no mercy while beating his kit.  And above all, be ready for a relentless and harsh sonic attack while you are in war. Too good to miss it. For me it’s 8,5/10   Sílvia

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8,5/10 To Greatness and Glory!
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