ANTHOLOGY
Monster Records
Legend is one of the all-time greatest heavy metal bands. You heard me right, this band is right up there with Sabbath, Purple, Priest, Maiden and Metallica. So they may not have sold a million records, in fact, apart from a handful of hard-core underground metal fans, this band is unheard of. But, then again, great metal was never based on popularity! In my humble opinion, Legend were the reigning kings of the NWOBHM, although they never got the respect, or credibility, as bands like Motorhead, Saxon, Iron Maiden, and Def Leppard have received throughout the years. Shit, even the lesser know British metal bands of that time, such as Angelwitch, Tygers Of PanTang, Tank, Raven, Jaguar, Venom, Diamond Head, Savage, and Holocaust got loads more attention and respect than Legend ever received. One thing is for sure, Legend were truly underground!
This double CD package includes Legend's groundbreaking self-titled debut (originally released in '81) and their follow-up record "Death In The Nursery" (originally released in '82), along with the 4-track "Frontline" EP and rare demo recordings (6 songs) from 1983. The brainchild of Legend is guitarist/songwriter Pete Haworth. Pete is without question a true musical genius, his songs are immensely heavy, yet incredibly melodic and emotional. And he is quite possibly the best lyricist in heavy metal music. I'm so glad they included the lyrics in the booklet, as their debut vinyl never had a lyric sheet. Now onto the songs... Disc one opens with one of the heaviest songs ever written, "Torture" (the original vinyl had "Bad Girl" as the opener.) This song's "legendary" three and a half minute intro leads into the best metal-shuffle riff I've yet to hear. And the vocals! Mike Lezala has the most incredible voice - so melodic, and ever-so eerie. And his harmonies are absolutely flawless! (I'll quickly mention some of the other highlight tracks before this review becomes an essay!) "Hiroshima," "Buried Alive," and "Negligence" are all extremely powerful and incredibly emotional classics. Disc two features the "Death In The Nursery" album along with their '83 demo. I think I actually prefer DITN over their debut album. Two musical masterpieces, and each so uniquely different. The songs on DITN show a bit more diversity and melody with a twisted Pink Floydish aura. This album, to me, is a conceptual masterpiece, comparable to Pink Floyd's "The Wall," Queensryche's "Operation Mindcrime" and Poison's "Look What The Cat Dragged In" (yes, that's a joke.) The opener, "Why Don't You Kill Me" is one of my personal faves but truthfully sounds out of sequence (I prefer the vinyl version with "Choices" opening the disc.) "Prisoner," "Time Bomb," and the title track are just a few of my other faves, each displaying Haworth's brilliant axe-work and, again, Lezala's phenomenal vocals.
The only disappointment I have with this package (apart from certain tracks from the Frontline EP and '83 demo) is the fact that this CD was neither re-mixed nor properly re-mastered from the original vinyl version. It sounds almost as if the disc was burned directly from the vinyl recording (in fact, you can still hear the vinyl hiss.) Anthology is one of those albums (as I mentioned in the "Killing Is My Business..." review) that I always dreamed would be remixed, remastered and released on CD. Not that the production was necessarily bad, it's just that it was obviously recorded on a very low budget (as were most of the indie NWOBHM releases in the early '80s.) Just think of the impact, if Legend's self-titled debut had a modern mix bringing out the guitars and drums, this album would be more potent than the entire Metallica catalog! But as you know, dreams don't always come true and I guess I should be fortunate that the band released this double CD package as is and didn't opt to go the route of Saxon (see "Heavy Metal Thunder" review) and completely re-record all the tracks! A must buy for any music fan! BN
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