STORM LEGION – DESOLATION ANGELS

‘Desolation Angels’ is the second full-length release from Portuguese black metallers Storm Legion. From the furious first seconds of opener ‘Planetary Dagger’ it is obvious that this is something quite special. The sound is clean, polished and modern, meaning that even at its most frenetic, the music remains nuanced and mature. The melodic riffs come through perfectly and are aptly complemented by the tortured vocals, which catch a far greater range of emotion than is usual on BM releases. This really sounds like a band on their 8^th album rather than their 2^nd!

For me, the only problem with this release is that the production takes away some of the immediacy of the music – not to a fatal degree, but I would have preferred a slightly dirtier, edgier sound (but then, I like my BM served as raw as possible). It means that even though we have memorable tracks, dynamic song-writing and plenty of emotion, this is an album I respect rather than love.  Having said that, if modern-sounding BM with a melodic edge is what grabs you, then this is definitely a record you should check out. To the rest of you, I’ll say this is an extremely good effort from a band with a great deal of potential.

www.myspace.com/stormlegion

www.w-t-c.org/