DARK LEGION
“God Of Harvest”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

8/10

Dark Legion are a heavy metal band from Greece founded by guitarist Spiros Rizos (Evil King, Sinner Guard). The bands debut album ‘God Of Harvest’ was released in 2022.

Featuring ten songs across a fifty minute run time, Greek metallers Dark Legion’s debut album is heavily rooted in the classic European melodic power metal sound with bands such as Gamma Ray, Helloween, and Stratovarius a major influence on the bands style. The album is quickly into its stride with ‘The Dragon’s Saga’ – a fast paced gallop blending traditional metal traits with power metal pomp. What a blistering way to announce your arrival onto the worldwide metal scene! Title song ‘God Of Harvest’ maintains the pace of the album opener, removing the traditional metal element and just sticking with power metal. A cracking opening double salvo that’s setting the album up to be a fast paced journey of infectious and head bang-able metal.

And how wrong can first impressions be? Very! For the album suddenly hits the brakes for the much slower paced ‘Fear Of Lose’ – taking a big step into the anthemic metal genre. Well it’s more like the anthemic hymn-like epic metal genre if I’m honest, ‘Fear Of Lose’ a bold stride of the tall and proud nature. The first single from the album ‘Paradise’, returns pace to the fore, galloping forth at a high tempo with an old school feel and the glorious “foot on the monitor” vibe. Now I would have expected a song with the title ‘Inner Fire’ to be a red hot scorcher of extreme pace – but instead it’s a slow burner, a crescendo building foot stomp of punches over a mellow backdrop. There’s also an air of mystery and intrigue about ‘Inner Fire’ as it shuffles onward.

With the band varying their musical approach, ‘God Of Harvest’ (the album) takes on a more interesting and intriguing feel, not knowing which way the album will turn next. Towards balladry that’s where, with ‘1000 Miles’ taking a mellow and serene stroll through a background of keyboards and emotionally driven vocals. Time for you to get your lighters out and hold them aloft and salute a ballad that really belongs on a rock album and not a metal one. But with the landscape Dark Legion have opted for with their debut offering, I guess it was only a matter of time before a ballad made its appearance. Not that ballads are a bad thing – I’m just of the opinion they don’t belong on heavy metal albums. And then suddenly the album rockets on with more energy and oomph than a space shuttle taking off – ‘Reign Of Fire’ the fastest song heard so far, and an absolute barnstormer of a gallop. The head bang ability of ‘Reign Of Fire’ is off the scale, with the rampant pace an igniter for the mosh pits to go fucking crazy.

Hitting a more progressive feel than heard anywhere else on the album, ‘The Girl Who Loves Me’ is much more heavy rock than either traditional, or power metal – Dark Legion expanding their boundaries once more and attracting fans from yet another genre of music. Staying safely within their boundaries, ‘Winters Night’ is exactly what melodic heavy metal should sound like. The infectious level rises right off the charts, creating smiles a mile wide on the faces of listeners all over the world. Such a happy and feel good song, Dark Legion have hit the sweet spot with this one. The final song ‘Sands Of Time’ clocks in at a mighty six and a half minutes in length, making it by far and away the longest song on offer. It is an expressive six and a half minutes too, exploring the progressive field of metal once again. Moving on at a fairly heavy mid tempo stomp, ‘Sands Of Time’ does have its mellower moments and passages of a hymn-like nature.

Overall, a weaving journey through many styles of metal, ‘God Of Harvest’ is an interesting and intriguing listen.

TRACKLIST

The Dragon’s Saga
God Of Harvest
Fear Of Lose
Paradise
Inner Fire
1000 Miles
Reign Of Fire
The Girl Who Loves Me
Winters Night
Sands Of Time

https://darklegion2.bandcamp.com/

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