Another year, another Legions of Metal in the book! This annual old school metal extravaganza is always a highlight of the year, especially for this born and raised Chicagoan. This time around, yours truly managed to make it a full weekend for the first time since before the pandemic: Something I missed out on last year due to Friday selling out in advance (Damn you Unleash the Archers), and the 2022 and 2023 editions being skipped over completely due to COVID. Needless to say, I was fired up, ready to join the legions and immerse myself in two days of nonstop pure metal mania, and that’s exactly what I did. I can hear you from across the screen already, my loyal reader. “Enough of the preamble! Tell us about the bands!” Alrighty then! Tell you, I shall…
Day 1 – Friday, May 3
Sacred Leather
The festivities began with an explosive set from Indy traditional metallers, Sacred Leather. Fronted by Dustin Boltjes of Skeletonwitch and Flesher fame, albeit under the pseudonym Dee Wrathchild, it was brought to my attention that Sacred Leather played the inaugural Legions of Metal way back in 2017, kicking things off on the Joint stage. This time around, they were opening the main stage, and despite their brief set time, played as if they were right at home. While the first couple songs of their set evoked the power of Thundersteel era Riot and Painkiller era Priest, subsequent cuts off their soon to be released sophomore album evoked shades of Dokken, Icon, Whitesnake, and dare I even say Def Leppard! As someone who can get down with a rock solid pop metal album from time to time, I look forward to whatever it is the future has in store for Sacred Leather.
Castle
In what couldn’t have been a more abrupt change of pace, the hook-heavy vibes of Sacred Leather were quickly demolished by the trad-doom wrecking crew that is Castle. With each passing year, doom has slowly become more prevalent at Legions, and Castle was the first of two unadulterated doom bands playing this weekend. This was my first time catching the power trio (with an emphasis on the word “power”, I must add), and I found myself taken aback by their fusion of ’90s doom grooves (think along the lines of The Obsessed and midlife crisis era Pentagram) with a ferocious punky attitude akin to The Stooges. The latter reared its ugly head harder on some songs than others, giving a “doom punk” vibe as opposed to doom metal, but hey, who’s keeping track? No matter how you slice it, Castle asserted their dominion to an unsuspecting crowd, and earned every last bit of applause.
Cardinals Folly
The doom trudged on with Cardinals Folly, albeit in a far more traditional and orthodox manner than Castle. For all intents and purposes, this band may very well be the second coming of cult icons and fellow Finns, Reverend Bizarre, nailing everything from the vocals and riffs, to the solos and atmosphere. Yes, you read that correctly: Cardinals Folly flew in all the way from Finland to play this little ole gathering…well, partially at least. For US jaunts, founder/bassist/frontman Count Karnstein is joined by a rhythm section who hails from Madison, Wisconsin of all places, which I’m sure at the very least shares some climate traits with Finland. Together, the trio lumbered their way through a trad-doom clinic, and if you weren’t feeling utterly damned beforehand, you sure were now.
Eaglewing
Having met my doom quota for the weekend, it was off to the Joint to be lifted by newcomers Eaglewing. Now this is a band whose name I’ve heard uttered more frequently as of late, especially amidst their very recent addition to next year’s Keep It True, and after catching their set, it turns out the hype is warranted. Fronted by a man I’m convinced is the lost son of the late Bon Scott, Eaglewing plays a riveting brand of traditional metal that draws heavily from the likes of Iron Maiden and Saxon, yet without falling victim to the usual NWOTHM clichés. Their songs are powerful and energetic, and their stage presence is a force to be reckoned with. Their future is looking to be a bright one!
Myth Carver
When I reviewed Myth Carver’s debut EP, Twist of Fate, I described these crossover crushers turned USPM gladiators as practitioners of “power metal you can mosh to”. This proved to be exactly the case come their Friday night set on the Joint stage. It only took two songs for the denim and leather clad devotees in attendance to start thrashing and bashing into each other, leaving the humble quarters of the Joint in complete disarray! For as vicious as frontman Daniel Schmuck’s vocals are on record, they’re even more so live, sounding like some unholy cross between Harry “The Tyrant” Conklin, Jon Oliva, and full blown extreme metal vocals. Pair this with battle hymns and crossover aggression, and you’ve got a band that’s guaranteed to give the NWOTHM scene a much needed shot in the arm.
Toxic Holocaust
With each passing year, the infiltration of extreme metal at once exclusively traditional metal events have become more and more prevalent. Look at Hell’s Heroes, which has for all purposes become Maryland Deathfest South with a handful of traditional names and the usual NWOTHM crop peppered in! Legions of Metal are no exception to this trend. This isn’t so much a matter of pushing boundaries, but rather survival amidst a crowded playing field in which every weekend there’s a new festival somewhere. This brought us to Friday night’s headliner, and easily the most extreme in Legions’ history thus far, Toxic Holocaust.
Now admittedly, Toxic Holocaust’s brand of blackened thrash-punk owes much to ’80s legends like Venom, Sodom, and Discharge. That said, those who prefer their metal strictly on the polished and melodic side ran for the door as the opening d-beats of “Bitch” took charge. As Joel Grind and company blistered through a punishing 40 minute set, and yours truly tried not to lose his White Castle dinner in the pit (mission accomplished), a single thought coursed through my mind that’s been lingering ever since, and here it is…
Growing up in the ’10s, I’d catch Toxic Holocaust as part of 3 to 5 band bills, usually opening things up or placed dead center, sandwiched between *insert Black Dahlia Murder type band here* and Goatwhore. I can’t remember the last time I caught them, but it was definitely before 2020. Now, here I was at 26, moshing around my beloved Reggies with my friends whose ages range from mid 20s to late 30s, witnessing what can only be described as this: A nostalgia set. Now before your millennial self smashes your computer in raging denial, think about it.
“Wild Dogs”, “Nuke the Cross”, “666”, “Bitch”, “War is Hell”: These are all anthems of our youth, anthems that now range anywhere from 15 to 20 years old, and in some cases, even older. I don’t convey this thought as a knock, but rather pure observation, and furthermore, praise. Think, if you will, of all the bands whose name graced the pages of Metal Maniacs and Decibel this century, only to fall by the wayside. Meanwhile, Toxic Holocaust was one of a few bands who managed to sustain, releasing one banger after the next and cultivating a rabid fanbase along the way. On that note, I can’t wait to do it all over again, when Toxic Holocaust takes the stage at Milwaukee Metal Fest in just a matter of weeks. Evil Never Dies!
Bonus review: Hellfrost
Those who know me are well aware of my feelings towards tribute acts (Of course, I type this as the singer of a Rush tribute band myself, but at least I’m a self-aware hypocrite!). That said, even I have come across my fair share of exceptions over the years: Bands who honor the spirit of the band they’re paying tribute to and do the music justice. One such exception is Hellfrost. Consisting of past and present members of local veterans like Disinter and Kommandant, amongst others, Hellfrost unleash the primal blackened insanity of Hellhammer and early Celtic Frost with a freakish conviction, as if blessed by Tom G. Warrior himself. Crushing classics like “Procreation (Of the Wicked)” and “Into the Crypts of Rays” served as the perfect closing to a full metal day.
Day 2 – Saturday, May 3
Oracle
After a few hours of something resembling sleep, I found myself back in the Joint, being treated to a band I had never heard of before, Oracle. Of the many things that are great about Legions (and there are many), one thing in particular is serving as a showcase for future favorites. Acts like Freeways and Mean Mistreater immediately come to mind. In the case of Oracle, unfortunately, their set suffered from both the lack of a singer (who quit the band prior to their Legions appearance) and a sampler that wouldn’t stop malfunctioning, resulting in a very awkward first 10 minutes. It’s a shame, because these guys can lay it down Symphony X style, and that’s no easy task. Hopefully next time around, Oracle brings it full force, singer, keyboardist, and all.
Intranced
Direct from the Sunset Strip, Intranced came strutting onto the Club stage as if they owned, driving home a set of already good songs on record, and taking them to the next level live. It was my first time catching the rightful heir to Yngwie Malmsteen’s throne, Fili Bibiano, in the flesh, and holy hell can this dude deliver the goods. Of equal intrigue was one-time White Wizzard and Holy Grail frontman, James-Paul Luna, who commanded the stage with both his supersonic pipes and old school theatricality. As if a rocking collection of new bangers wasn’t enough, the inclusion of the White Wizzard classic, “High Speed GTO” (an all-time favorite of my youth), might’ve just been the highlight of the whole weekend, if it wasn’t for events that would transpire as the night went on…
Slauter Xstroyes
I feel like this latest jaunt is the third or fourth time Slauter Xstroyes has pulled a “We’re back!” in my lifetime, but man, I’m not complaining. The local prog-power metal legends are absolutely killing it, replicating those classics off the now 40 year old Winter Kill (1985) and the equally unsung Free the Beast (1998) with utterly freakish precision, and I mean that in the most complimentary way imaginable. This band, in their prime, was as great as Queensrÿche, Fates Warning, and a certain band who would take the stage later that night on their own comeback tour, but more on them later. If you take offense to that last statement, I highly recommend you actually give Slauter Xstroyes a listen, and try telling me otherwise with a straight face afterwards.
High Spirits
High Spirits: The happiest band in the world. The brainchild of the greatest musical genius of this century, Professor Chris Black (and I mean every word of that statement), I’ve been treated to this band live on numerous occasions, and every single time, they deliver. I’ve never seen a bad High Spirits set. Hell, I’ve never even seen an OK High Spirits set. While other bands go to 10, High Spirits crank it to 11, unleashing the greatest heavy rock n’ roll soundtrack since Boston’s namesake debut, or at the very least Van Halen’s. Of course, Black, humble as ever, will likely smile and laugh at this paragraph. In fact, I can hear him now, assuring me that end of the day, it was just “Another Night in the City”…the greatest city on earth, that is.
Crimson Glory
Crimson Glory are a band I’ve listened to from a very young age (11, to be exact). After my initial exposure to the Sabbaths and the Priests and the Maidens of the metal-verse, they were part of the next step on my journey, in which I was exposed to the likes of Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol, Mercyful Fate, and more. I quickly became enamored by everything about them, from their majestic music to their theatrical presentation (At this age, I was fascinated by visual-centric acts like KISS, Alice Cooper, and Rammstein, just to name a few). And their self-titled 1986 masterpiece debut spoke to me in ways few albums had up until that point, save for maybe Rush’s Moving Pictures or Queensrÿche’s Operation: Mindcrime.
Taking all this into consideration, when the news came out that 3/5 of the band’s classic lineup would be reuniting for another go-around, I remained VERY skeptical. Sure, Todd La Torre did an excellent job holding down the fort, prior to being poached by Queensrÿche, but as far as I’m concerned, there is only one Midnight, and if you argued his voice as being the greatest this planet as ever known (as one friend did this very evening), I don’t know if I’d fight you on it. So how did newcomer Travis Wills compare to the tragically deceased vocal behemoth? Well, I wouldn’t go so far to call him a dead ringer, but holy shit was he great. Like, REALLY great. Like, exceeded my expectations and then some great.
Drawing exclusively from their self titled and Transcendence (1988), Crimson Glory played their first Chicago set in over 35 years to an adoring audience who could only headbang in unison, sing along poorly, and bask in their, pun fully intended, glory. Sure, the OG members have grown older, and their signature silver masks were no where to be found (My inner 12 year old might’ve been a bit disappointed), but the songs? Utterly timeless. I could feel goosebumps forming on the back of my neck as we all screamed along to the chorus of classics like “Lady of Winter”, “Azrael”, and “Lonely”, something I never imagined I’d have the chance to do, but were able to thanks to fest organizers Bob Byrne and Shane “King of Chicago” Merrill.
For yet another year, Legions of Metal remains untouchable in terms of organization and vibe. As I lamented to Byrne himself via text last night, if all fests were that smooth and laidback, I’d find myself at more. The lineup was a spectacular mix, both era-wise and stylistically, and Reggies remains THEE place to be for metal in Chicago, but you knew that already. And as for the hangs, well, at this point, Legions feels less like a festival proper and more like a glorified family reunion with bands playing in the background. It might not receive the same fanfare as MDF or Hell’s Heroes, if only for its humble two day, one venue scale, but dammit, it sure deserves all the accolades it gets! Until we meet again, Legions, keep it heavy with a “Heart of Steel”.
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