{"id":15516,"date":"2013-11-26T00:00:22","date_gmt":"2013-11-26T00:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=15516"},"modified":"2013-12-22T15:19:33","modified_gmt":"2013-12-22T15:19:33","slug":"album-review-artillery-legions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-artillery-legions\/","title":{"rendered":"ARTILLERY – Legions (2013) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

ARTILLERY
Legions<\/strong><\/span>
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\nMetal Blade (2013)<\/span>
Rating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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When it comes to cult thrash, Danish maniacs Artillery are one of those underground bands that every self-respecting thrash metal fan should know about. Forget the countless new and upcoming bands attempting to bring back the 80s, because for all the good fun the new breed may offer the likes of Artillery are the real deal and have been cracking skulls for decades.<\/p>\n

Ever since the release of their debut assault Fear Of Tomorrow<\/em> in 1985 and 1987\u2019s Terror Squad<\/em> (complete with atrocious cover art) these guys have been known across the world for their aggressive, face-ripping brand of fast-paced metal \u2013 the sort of jugular-tearing thrash that never once hit the big time, but it was a sound that was forever embedded into our hearts like a set of rusty nails.<\/p>\n

Artillery\u2019s career was somewhat short lived first time around with 1990\u2019s By Inheritance<\/em> being the last of their terrific trio of records, before their return in 1999 with B.A.C.K.<\/em> Despite the violent nature of B.A.C.K.<\/em> it once again signaled further problems for the band, and despite returning a decade later with When Death Comes<\/em> in 2009, original vocalist Flemming R\u00f8nsdorf had long since fled the disheveled nest.<\/p>\n

Even so, the several line-up changes haven\u2019t halted the progress of this machine which puked out My Blood<\/em> in 2011 \u2013 with the band fronted by S\u00f8ren \u201cNico\u201d Adamsen. But now we\u2019ve reached 2013 and Artillery are keen to keep our attention, and despite returning with yet another vocalist, this time in the form of Michael Bastholm Dahl, this unhinged combo are still intent on showing the new kids on the block how to master the art of old school thrash.<\/p>\n

Dahl is backed by the twin guitar fury of the St\u00fctzer\u2019s (Morten and Michael) along with bassist Peter Thorslund and drummer Josua Madsen, and as expected the result of these guys putting their instruments of torture together is one hell of a racket.<\/p>\n

\u2018Chill My Bones (Burn My Flesh)\u2019 opens with a classic Eastern influence and pitter-patter drums before the weight tumbles upon the cranium like a lead balloon. Riffs tear the flesh, the bass cuts through bone and the drums batter as Dahl\u2019s melodic tones soar above the cacophony.<\/p>\n

Artillery have effortlessly moved into the premier league of thrash, leaving behind their hazy days of raw cult sneering, this time upping the levels of mosh to allow the guitars to breath as the epic rattle of \u2018God Feather\u2019 gloriously introduces itself with raging speed. Dahl sounds more impressive than ever, giving the record a clear and modern presence as he wails amidst a sea of flailing solos which give the record a maddening feel.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve struggled to pick a favourite track despite several listens, such is the quality of this opus. For instance, the seven-minute \u2018Global Flatline\u2019 begins with sinister aplomb but lumbers into foreboding melody, while \u2018Anno Requiem\u2019 is simply an aural assault that leaves a carcass bereft of bone such is its fiery intensity. \u2018Ethos Of Wrath\u2019 is another full on thrasher, but again those vocals give it such a refreshing edge, while \u2018Wardrum Heartbeat\u2019 features some truly pounding drums and furious vocal wails. In other words, Legions<\/em> is a top-notch thrash experience that should dwell for many hours in that CD player \/ record player \/ iPod (delete where applicable!) of yours.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ARTILLERYLegions Metal Blade (2013)Rating: 8.5\/10 When it comes to cult thrash, Danish maniacs Artillery are one of those underground bands that every self-respecting thrash metal fan should know about. Forget the countless new and upcoming bands attempting to bring back the 80s, because for all the good fun the new breed may offer the likes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,833],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-artillery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15516"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15522,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15516\/revisions\/15522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}