Grim Legion - Harbingers of Death

Grim Legion is a death metal band from Manalapan, New Jersey, United States who formed in 1988 and went on a hiatus in 1991; they reformed in 2011 and have been active since.  Their latest album, “Harbingers of Death,” is their second full-length album; they have also released four demos, an EP and a compilation.  

Grim Legion features Evoken alumni Randy Cavanaugh and John Paradiso on guitars, Condition Critical's Ryan Donato on drums, and ex-Fate Array musicians Devlin Bane on vocals, guitar and Marakus Misery on bass.   

Based on those musicians and their history, I would have been a total dumbass to expect this to be anything less than bone crushing.  While I am still stupid, I expected this to be exactly what it provides:  monstrous old school death metal that’s as cold as the grave and unforgiving as death. 

The production isn’t exactly what I would call raw but it’s definitely rough, in a way that an album of this nature needs to be. The atmosphere is absolutely chilling—-the air is replaced with thick slabs of grave granite and has the hospitality of a tomb of decay.  This is exactly why the album is so good and there isn’t any other way I would want this band to present itself.  “Harbingers of Death,” is nasty, brutal, and a constant bulldozer of an album.  

Its 10-song runtime is a super tight 34 minute—no time is wasted nor are there any real moments where I was able to breathe.  From the first second to the last, the album does not let up.

The album opens up with “Mutilation Scream,” and the sound bites of someone being tortured or murdered.  I would expect nothing less.  The tone of the guitar is perfect and within seconds the song is on a ramp.  The death growls are straight up old school: frightening and ghastly but intelligible with some real venom behind them.  The riffs pound constantly, as do the drums, and it's almost maddening how intense this opening song is. 

Much like Incantation or Aspyx, Grim Legion uses slow to mid tempos alongside their more breakneck moments of speed. I’ve always liked this approach, as long as it's used effectively—and it is indeed used effectively. “Planet of the Dead,” showcases that you can use slow tempos without being meandering or losing an inch of extremity. 

“Sentenced to Oblivion," takes the slow with the fast.  The opening, and a part near the end, opt for a more dirge march of death but the moments in between are rumbling and abrasive as hell.  The riffs here are straight up evil, bolstered to even more depths by the insane drumming and bass that’s so dark it could swallow the sun.  The solo around the 1:48 mark is really cool—unique and not flashy but captivating all the same.  

The title track is a train of brutality that burns off the tracks and rams into the grand central station, aka the earbuds.  This is a really big song that encompasses the senses with a good pair of headphones. The riffs are catchy and it has that old school mentality of killing while being groove laden.  After the solo ends at the 2:25 mark, the song enters perhaps its most uncompromising moment, all in about forty seconds.  Just blistering! 

The album ends on the short but sweet, “Suicide Salvation.”  This song is zeroed in on optimum destruction.  I like how detailed the drums are during the brief moments where they aren’t played like lighting–little details like this really make the song come alive.  After the 1:25 mark, a massive galloping passage marches forth, like the inescapable specter of death.  

Grim Legion’s “Harbingers of Death,” is a deliciously evil old school death metal album that not only hits the hallmarks of the genre but shreds the meat off the bones.  Those who think death metal has become too modern and sterile, will find much in this album to bring back the hope of death. 

Rating: Solid