When doom metal icon Eric Wagner departed this earthly realm roughly three years ago, it didn’t just mark the end of an era, but left his post-Trouble bands in limbo, The Skull and Blackfinger. Although the fate of Blackfinger remains to be seen, The Skull quickly assembled an all-star lineup for a series of Eric Wagner memorial shows. Filling Eric’s ginormous shoes was none other than one time Corrosion of Conformity singer, Karl Agell. When Saint Vitus’ Scott Reagers offered to join the fold, it lead to the birth of a new outfit altogether.
Before they knew it, Legions of Doom found themselves touring the globe, playing the best of Trouble, Saint Vitus, and Corrosion of Conformity. It was the doom metal equivalent of Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band, albeit with crowds of stoned heshers as opposed to geriatric boomers. The question remained: Could this new band work the same magic in the studio? After all, there was a new Skull album in the works prior to Wagner’s passing. Could this be the magical opportunity to pay tribute to their fallen brother in the form of new music? Indeed, it was.
True to its title, The Skull 3 is what would’ve been The Skull’s third album, and features lyrics penned by none other than Wagner himself. His fellow frontmen, Agell and Reagers, do him proud, bellowing and lamenting against hymns of gloom and doom. The majority of the vocals are handled by Agell, whose soulful, melodic delivery is as potent today as it was 30+ years ago on COC’s Blind (1991). Whether it be the grooving high of “All Good Things” , psych doom meanderings of “Between Darkness and Dawn”, or speed doom devastation of “Insecticide”, Agell’s vocals evoke a hazy warmth that adds charm to even the bleakest of dirges.
On the topic of bleakness, the Reagers contributions to this affair are absolutely punishing, in true old school Saint Vitus fashion. The merciless atmosphere and painstakingly slow crawl of “Lost Soul” sounds straight off of the band’s groundbreaking self title debut. “A Voice of Reason” picks up the pace, fusing the grimness of Vitus with the stoned swagger of ’90s Trouble, but it’s the lengthy closer, “Hallow By All Means”, that drives the doom on home, one plodding guitar riff and tortured cackle at a time. Despite the contrast in Agell and Reagers’ vocal deliveries, they both work in their own unique way over songs that otherwise would’ve been sung by the late Wagner and his unreplaceable banshee wail.
Speaking of Wagner, this album is not without a final curtain call from the dearly departed legend, in the form of a Lennon and McCartney-esque ballad ironically entitled “Heaven”. It’s no secret Wagner loved The Beatles, and the Rubber Soul influence is strong on this stripped down doom ballad. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the figurative cherry on top of a doom metal sundae that’ll delight headbangers young and old. If The Skull is truly no more, then long live Legions of Doom for continuing their low and heavy legacy.
7 out of 10
Label: Tee Pee Records
Genre: Doom Metal
For fans of: The Skull, Trouble, Saint Vitus