Feradur - Legion
Hailing from Luxembourg, Feradur have been active since 2006 and "Legion" is their second full length album. As many bands of today they chose to self release their material in digital and CD format. I was unfamiliar with the band, but the first song 'Deus (Finis Saeculorum)' is a dynamic statement and puts the band in the melo death genre with influences that vary from Amon Amarth to At The Gates and really nice melodic lines.
'A Hadean Task' riffology and lead guitar work, as well as the way the vocals are whispered at times, reminded me of Rotting Christ from "Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers" and "A Dead Poem" era. It has that epic touch of a classic and carries a heavy 90's aura. Michel Weber's drums here are marching and the guitar melodies of Michel Strock and Daniel Gloden at the end of the song are of pure excellence. A really great song and one of my favorites from the album.
Next song 'Kolossus' has a strong impact of the Swedish melo death sound and especially At The Gates. The guitars are edgy sharp and once again the melodic solo catches the eye. 'Holy Fire' features some doom parts with amazing drum fills and double bass work from Michel Weber. Mario Hann's vocals in a sense sound black metal influenced again in this one and the result is beyond great. The lead guitar resembles old Paradise Lost works and the band with Fridtjof Kielgast's awesome bass work sounds really tight.
Time for a change. The acoustic intro with the accompanying lead guitar of 'Omen Of Incompleteness' first brought to my mind Angra, just before another heavy riff breaks out. The double vocals wherever used are absolutely meaningful underlining Feradur's great work and emphasis in the details. The riffs persist on staccato techniques in basic rhythms rather than unecessary technical skills show offs. This is an asset. Moreover, the grooves Feradur create and the way they support their melodies are brilliant. An Iron Maiden melody over excellent drums gives way to a fast death metal riff and 'Fake Creator' takes control. The breaks are filled with melodies just before they fire another round. The returning melodies are Maiden worship, but the tension coming from the riffs is death metal enough to break your neck. I loved 'Fake Creator' and this song is for sure another standout for me. It stands as a perfect mixture of classic heavy metal with the Swedish death metal sound.
'Of Greater Deeds' opening chords carry a sick melody only bands like Rush, Marillion or Alice in Chains at their sickest moments could have written. The song is another dynamite, enough to create moshpits from the first to the last note. 'The Night They Were Taken' has a great Amon Amarth atmosphere mixed with Bolt Thrower warfilled elements. The legatos sound super nice just before a cataclysm of riffs. The Slayer-ish solo fits perfectly the song. Immediately after the lead guitar comes a melody that could have been in "Seasons In The Abyss" and a chopped riff that perfectly ends the song. 'Amplification Monolith' starts off with the drums. The riff changes throughout the song are drastic and effective in keeping the tension high. The melodies are memorable and along with the nice lead guitar work compile another great song. Possibly their best lead guitar melody is in this one.
The slugdy riff over minimalistic drums of 'Maelstrom' take me back to the early days when Death Metal was born. The riff is Bathory "Hammerheart" worship. Epic and glorious. The fast pace changing to mid tempo parts and back again create an atmosphere similar to the first Rotting Christ records. The open vocals of Mario Hann here reminded me of Chuck Schuldiner. The influences are variable and work for the song's benefit. 'Maelstrom' is an epic death/black song with amazing melodies and tempo changes. It is hands down another great moment of 'Legion'.
Last song is 'Into Stygian Depths' which is an outro theme based on a fragile melody which takes place in the kingdoms of weird and bizarre secret worlds below the river. As it happens for me to be Greek, 'Stygian' refers to the River Styx of the underworld Hades in Greek mythology. Feradur's debut album 'Epimetheus' had also references to the Greek mythology. In Greek mythology, Epimetheus (which might mean 'hindsight', literally 'afterthinker') was the brother of Prometheus (traditionally interpreted as 'foresight', literally 'fore-thinker'), a pair of Titans who 'acted as representatives of mankind'. They were the sons of Iapetus, who in other contexts was the father of Atlas. While Prometheus is characterized as ingenious and clever, Epimetheus is depicted as foolish.
But enough with the Greek Mythology. Feradur are an ingenious and clever band and to summarize my review, fans of melodic death metal and fans of the Swedish sound can easily proceed and enjoy an excellent album here. I had a really good time with it and feel lucky that good music still comes out. Oh, and the cover artwork of the album is very beautiful! Check it out!
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'A Hadean Task' riffology and lead guitar work, as well as the way the vocals are whispered at times, reminded me of Rotting Christ from "Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers" and "A Dead Poem" era. It has that epic touch of a classic and carries a heavy 90's aura. Michel Weber's drums here are marching and the guitar melodies of Michel Strock and Daniel Gloden at the end of the song are of pure excellence. A really great song and one of my favorites from the album.
Next song 'Kolossus' has a strong impact of the Swedish melo death sound and especially At The Gates. The guitars are edgy sharp and once again the melodic solo catches the eye. 'Holy Fire' features some doom parts with amazing drum fills and double bass work from Michel Weber. Mario Hann's vocals in a sense sound black metal influenced again in this one and the result is beyond great. The lead guitar resembles old Paradise Lost works and the band with Fridtjof Kielgast's awesome bass work sounds really tight.
Time for a change. The acoustic intro with the accompanying lead guitar of 'Omen Of Incompleteness' first brought to my mind Angra, just before another heavy riff breaks out. The double vocals wherever used are absolutely meaningful underlining Feradur's great work and emphasis in the details. The riffs persist on staccato techniques in basic rhythms rather than unecessary technical skills show offs. This is an asset. Moreover, the grooves Feradur create and the way they support their melodies are brilliant. An Iron Maiden melody over excellent drums gives way to a fast death metal riff and 'Fake Creator' takes control. The breaks are filled with melodies just before they fire another round. The returning melodies are Maiden worship, but the tension coming from the riffs is death metal enough to break your neck. I loved 'Fake Creator' and this song is for sure another standout for me. It stands as a perfect mixture of classic heavy metal with the Swedish death metal sound.
'Of Greater Deeds' opening chords carry a sick melody only bands like Rush, Marillion or Alice in Chains at their sickest moments could have written. The song is another dynamite, enough to create moshpits from the first to the last note. 'The Night They Were Taken' has a great Amon Amarth atmosphere mixed with Bolt Thrower warfilled elements. The legatos sound super nice just before a cataclysm of riffs. The Slayer-ish solo fits perfectly the song. Immediately after the lead guitar comes a melody that could have been in "Seasons In The Abyss" and a chopped riff that perfectly ends the song. 'Amplification Monolith' starts off with the drums. The riff changes throughout the song are drastic and effective in keeping the tension high. The melodies are memorable and along with the nice lead guitar work compile another great song. Possibly their best lead guitar melody is in this one.
The slugdy riff over minimalistic drums of 'Maelstrom' take me back to the early days when Death Metal was born. The riff is Bathory "Hammerheart" worship. Epic and glorious. The fast pace changing to mid tempo parts and back again create an atmosphere similar to the first Rotting Christ records. The open vocals of Mario Hann here reminded me of Chuck Schuldiner. The influences are variable and work for the song's benefit. 'Maelstrom' is an epic death/black song with amazing melodies and tempo changes. It is hands down another great moment of 'Legion'.
Last song is 'Into Stygian Depths' which is an outro theme based on a fragile melody which takes place in the kingdoms of weird and bizarre secret worlds below the river. As it happens for me to be Greek, 'Stygian' refers to the River Styx of the underworld Hades in Greek mythology. Feradur's debut album 'Epimetheus' had also references to the Greek mythology. In Greek mythology, Epimetheus (which might mean 'hindsight', literally 'afterthinker') was the brother of Prometheus (traditionally interpreted as 'foresight', literally 'fore-thinker'), a pair of Titans who 'acted as representatives of mankind'. They were the sons of Iapetus, who in other contexts was the father of Atlas. While Prometheus is characterized as ingenious and clever, Epimetheus is depicted as foolish.
But enough with the Greek Mythology. Feradur are an ingenious and clever band and to summarize my review, fans of melodic death metal and fans of the Swedish sound can easily proceed and enjoy an excellent album here. I had a really good time with it and feel lucky that good music still comes out. Oh, and the cover artwork of the album is very beautiful! Check it out!
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1. Deus (Finis Saeculorum)
2. A Hadean Task
3. Kolossus
4. Holy Fire
5. Omen Of Incompleteness
6. Fake Creator
7. Of Greater Deeds
8. The Night They Were Taken
9. Amplification Monolith
10. Maelstrom
11. Into Stygian Depths
2. A Hadean Task
3. Kolossus
4. Holy Fire
5. Omen Of Incompleteness
6. Fake Creator
7. Of Greater Deeds
8. The Night They Were Taken
9. Amplification Monolith
10. Maelstrom
11. Into Stygian Depths
Self released
Reviewer: Manos Michaelides
Jul 18, 2019
Jul 18, 2019
Next review:
The Schizoid - Pariah
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