Review: Legions Of Doom ‘The Skull 3’
Do I need to go into the who, what and when of The Skull? In short, Eric Wagner left Trouble and a couple of years later decided he wanted to start playing early Trouble stuff again, but with someone else. At that point, The Skull (taking their name from Trouble’s classic second album) was born, and subsequently, they jumped off the pure-nostalgia train and recorded two cracking albums of original material before Wagner’s untimely and upsetting passing.
So why the hell is this record called The Skull 3 and delivered by a new band named Legions Of Doom? And since when is one legion not enough? Well, the simple answer is that in the main, this record puts the finishing touches to songs that Wagner had already written for the next The Skull album, but the band also wanted to show a clear intention of moving from one chapter to another (artistically speaking), hence the slightly confusing moniker serving as a passing of the baton. Oh, and on the multiple legion(s) issue; one can only surmise that this is to distinguish them from the late ’70s cartoon and the early-noughties WWF wrestling tag team. I told you it was confusing.
The key question regarding this album is whether Legions Of Doom effectively mark their own distinct path on this album? Ultimately, whilst there are some good songs here, I think the answer has to be ‘no’, and there is one definite reason for that: three vocalists. On the track Heaven we have the mighty Eric Wagner delivering what I assume will be the last recorded vocal we ever hear from him, and it’s a beautiful track that might have happily sat on his Lid album. On the rest of the album the vocal duties are split between Karl Agell, who for me will always be the voice of Corrosion of Conformity’s Blind album, (which coincidentally has a band member wearing a Trouble shirt on the back cover!) and Scott Reagers of Saint Vitus fame.
The album opens with Beyond The Shadow Of Doubt – a suitably doomy title and an equally doomy sounding track. We are firmly and squarely in classic American doom territory here and the galloping main riff will please anyone with even the slightest acquaintance with Legions Of Doom’s forefathers. Second track, All Good Things, is slightly more upbeat and leans towards a mainstream rock sound. That might sound like a subtle dig, but it really isn’t intended to be as it’s probably my favourite track on the album and Agell’s vocals are great.
We are firmly and squarely in classic American doom territory…
Lost Soul is where The Skull 3 starts to lose me. I guess the best way to describe what I mean is to say that I was always a Trouble fan but never really understood Candlemass – the dramatic presentation and very unsubtle lyrics and imagery just didn’t appeal to me. Lost Soul lands with me in the same way, and I find it to be a rather uncomfortable listen. A Voice Of Reason follows in much the same vein. At this point I’m not sure if it’s largely due to the different vocalists and their contribution to the songwriting/arrangements, but whatever it is, I must admit to the first four tracks having a 50% strike rate with me.
Between Darkness And Dawn comes to life with a bass and vocal intro which brings some much-needed dynamics to the party. As the track progresses it builds into certainly the most bluesy territory that Legions Of Doom explore. The middle parts of the song also dip a toe into the Beatle-esque sounds that characterised so much of Wagner’s best output. This is then contrasted well with Insecticide which is a straight-forward banger in the vein of Trouble’s R.I.P.
The Wagner-fronted Heaven then follows, and it is obviously the biggest single selling point of the album. It lives up to its billing and it is well worth exploring in the context of the album, or on its own if all you have to spare is four minutes and twenty-six seconds. The album then concludes with the epic Hallow By All Means – all nine and a half minutes of it. This track picks up where A Voice of Reason left off, only this time with added spooky organs and bell-tolling!
Having taken the time to digest The Skull 3 it strikes me that the fine intention of naturally bleeding from one band into another hasn’t quite come to fruition. Indeed, the new band name, Legions Of Doom, would be an ideal album title if this had been a doom compilation album, and this coincidence strikes at the heart of why I don’t think it works – Legions Of Doom don’t yet sound like a band with a unique voice, both literally and figuratively.
I have no doubt that any live show they deliver will be an absolute blast – serving as both a celebration and tribute, not just to a lost friend but also to the genre that the individuals have called home for decades. But that energy sadly hasn’t transferred to wax this time around. Does that mean it isn’t worth exploring? Not at all, there is some good stuff on here… just not up to the hallowed heights of what went before.
Label: Tee Pee Records
Band Links: Facebook | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: David J McLaren
