Legions of the Night – Darkness (2024)

There are some bands that become a great source of inspiration, giving birth to others that pay homage to them. with success or not. To give an example, there are countless bands where you could say they bear a resemblance to Helloween. There are some others however that have managed to stay unique, with not many musicians managing to come close to their grandier. Savatage is one of them. How many artists can you say that compose music like them? My first encounter with Legions of the Night, was me reading that they play music similar to Savatage.  This of course drew my attention initially, and to my surprise I found out this is a true yet not restricting statement. 

Darkness is the third Full Length of this group, which was born in 2020 during the pandemic period. Members are Juns Faber on the string instruments and Philip Bock on drums, both from Dawn of Destiny. On the vocals we find Henning Basse of Metalium, among many other appearances. 

The fact that Legions of the Night do not tour, has not given them the biggest boost in terms of popularity. That does not change the fact that the new album is a very good Power Metal entry, of the interesting ones for this year. To start unraveling the thread, do not expect something similar to Sirens, as Henning’s voice is moving on lower registers. I could say that we have something more similar to Gutter Ballet and the later more theatrical/ musical version of Savatage. Having said that, Darkness is more guitar oriented and the final result is heavy enough.

The album is dressed with a dark, melancholic atmosphere, expressed through a very rich landscape of different musical expressions. By that I mean that each song has diversity and you will have many opportunities to discover new stuff. Just before I claimed a heavy direction, but I did not say that I am talking about Tad Morose levels. At the same time the band creates some twists and makes the outcome sound very dramatic and theatrical without notice. The good production allows each direction to surface when it needs to. 

In order to temper some expectations, we are not talking about the new Savatage. Legions of the Night should be viewed neither as copycats, as they have their own identity, but nor as the evolutionary continuation of that sound. To put it simply, they channel their creativity through a strong Savatage filter by paying homage to them, something that not many others have dared to do to such an extent. Is it successful? For me, yes, it is.  

Darkness belongs into the category of albums that can easily fall victim to the new music oversupply, and pass unnoticed. But if it catches your attention and you invest in it, you will be delighted to realize that you have discovered something different and worthy of your attention. 

80/100

Pavlos Pavlakis