UMUR "The Poison Chalice" is the eight full-length studio album by Dutch thrash metal act Legion of the Damned. The album was released through Napalm Records in June 2023. It´s the successor to "Slaves Of The Shadow Realm" from 2019 and there´s been one lineup change since the predecessor as Legion of the Damned have opted to hire Fabian Verweij as a second guitarist, thereby enabling Maurice Swinkels to solely concentrate on performing lead vocals. Although Legion of the Damned was formed in 2005, they operated under the Occult monicker from 1992-2005, releasing several albums under that name, so it´s an understatement to say that Legion of the Damned/Occult are among the longest running Dutch thrash metal acts.

Along with great experience comes high level musicianship, effective songwriting, and a great understanding of production values, and it´s no surprise that "The Poison Chalice" features all those elements. Stylistically the material on "The Poison Chalice" is through and through the sound of Legion of the Damned...fast, sharp, and brutal thrash metal riffs and rhythms, blistering solo work, and Swinkels rabid dog snarling vocals in front. They´ve developed a slight blackened edge over the years, and the guitar solos have also become a little more melodic, but the core sound is intact. This is pretty old school and you won´t find much here you wouldn´t expect to hear on a mid- to late 80s aggressive thrash metal release. It´s raw, aggressive, and packs a punch. While it´s certainly not primitive music, it´s still relatively easy to follow and snarl along to.

So it´s safe to say Legion of the Damned didn´t spend the years since "Slaves Of The Shadow Realm" inventing a new style or developing their core sound much. As mentioned above the lead guitar parts are slightly more melodic than usual, but otherwise you get exactly what you expect from "The Poison Chalice". Good quality thrash metal in the aggressive end of the spectrum. It features the right amount of furious intensity and powerful playing to force you to bring out your bullet belts and studded wristbands, and head for the mosh pit. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.