Battle after glorious battle is fought between organized legions and chaotic berserk troops all the same. Soldiers destroy, pillage and plunder with fury and bloodlust. A ravaged and broken world is what’s left of the former fertile lands. Still, the endless war goes on at other places, no time to catch breath…

Massive overwhelming black/death metal thunders onwards like an ancient Roman army. The Legion plays technical metal as fast and aggressive as Dark Funeral, the band has its very own style though. Also brutal death metal elements comparable to Nile and (newer) Behemoth can be heard. The unwavering drums are outstanding and flawless. A great, clean production adds to this. The Legion marches on with high speed, slower parts are almost nihil. The music creates an overwhelming feeling of unstoppable despair, probably caused by the sad, floating guitar melodies. Contrast to this is the ‘classical’ part at the end of the song Bloodgate, which turns into a grotesque victory song. This momentary rest doesn’t last long though, the music turning to full speed once again in the next song.

The Legion (then called Tyrant) was formed in 1996 in Sweden.

After several demos, and minis they released the full-length album “Unseen to Creation” in 2003. Now, after three years of silence, they return with “Revocation”. The line up of The Legion has changed slightly over the years. Founding members are Emil Drautinivic (drums; also in Marduk), David Svartz (guitar) and Rikard Kottelin (guitar). Newer members are Kjetil Hektoen (known from the far more melodic Crest of Darkness) and (as session member) Kristoffer Andersson (bass; from Sargatanas Reign).

As with their first album, Kris Verwimp painted the cover of “Revocation”. A great work of art picturing a devastated rocky landscape littered with corpses. Verwimp has made a name with his many artworks for metal albums from bands like for example Absu, Manegarm and Moonblood.

Overall, “Revocation” sounds highly technical and has a good production. Too bad it’s all a bit too much of the same thing. Song after song the music goes on with high speed, which gets tiresome after a while. Still, “Revocation” is a recommendation for fans of fast and brutal black/death metal.