REVIEW: LEGACY OF DISORDER'S LAST MAN STANDING

I have a friend who would call Legacy of Disorder “music to get a speeding ticket to”. You know the type of music, but hopefully not the outcome. It’s fast, intense, heavy, pulsating, grinding and it’s infectious as it burrows its way inside your head. Your hand grips the steering wheel tighter as the song progresses. Your head begins to nod to the beat and your speedometer increases in speed as the song progresses. If you like that kind of music, then their newest album Last Man Standing is one that you will quickly fall in love with.

New Zealand is not necessarily the first place on the map that people think about when they hear the word metal, but that’s about to change. Legacy of Disorder’s second album is a power packed, ten track explosion of powerful riffs and gritty vocals that never let up until the end of the last track.

The guys were produced again on this album by Sterling Winfield, who has worked with the legendary Pantera, as well as Damage Plan. Now, it won’t take you long to tell that there is a definite Pantera influence on this album. I’m pretty sure the band was an influence on Legacy of Disorder and Sterling certainly has brought that out in them. Throw in a heaping help of Anthrax and a sprinkle of early Metallica and you have one killer combination.

The album starts with an air raid siren and then riffs are immediately bombed down upon the listener as “Thorns” kicks in. Throw in some double kick drum and pounding bass and you’re off to a killer start. Vocalist James Robinson has a great voice. It has a special roughness to it, but not to the point that he’s growling. Oh yeah, there’s a kickass guitar solo folded in there too. What a great opening track!

“March to Death” is a standout track that I think will blow people away. It starts off very somber and a little creepy, bringing to mind Metallica’s “One”. It does wax poetically on the topic of Nazi philosophy, so there is some depth to the songwriting. Don’t let that scare you off at all. It has some maximum guitar melting riffs blasted through the speakers. Speaking of subject matter, “Impaler” is another interesting one, taking on the subject of Vlad the Impaler.

“Last Man Standing” goes from 0 to 90 in about two seconds. The only time it eases up is on the chorus and that’s just briefly. This song would make any of the Big 4 proud of their influence on another generation. James also shows some range on this one as he mixes clean vocals with an even grittier style than earlier. Yes, there’s yet another blistering guitar solo that you just got to love. Bassist Jason Keill is solid throughout the album, but his bass skills on “Treading the Tainted Path”are as nasty as they come!

Overall, this album is pretty solid. It’s all killer and no filler, with no wimpy ballads to be found. James Robinson puts his vocals on display and excels. There’s grit and believability behind his voice. The rhythm section of Jason Keill on bass and Matt Thompson on drums sound seasoned well beyond their years. Last, but not least, is the searing, shred master work of guitarist Rana Freilich. He is an insane guitarist who loves to throws down endless solos without sounding redundant.

If this gets played in the right markets, it won’t take this band long to start moving to the front of the metal crowd. An album as good as this one deserves to be heard by the masses. It will appeal to old school metal fans such as Anthrax and early Metallica as well as fans of newer metal such as Machine Head. As far as getting a speeding ticket goes, you have been warned. The band accepts no responsibility for that!