LEGION OF THE DAMNED — The Poison Chalice (review)

LEGION OF THE DAMNED — The Poison Chalice album cover Album · 2023 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
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.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
UMUR wrote:
8 months ago
Yeah I think I liked the last one just a bit more too...
Nightfly wrote:
8 months ago
I need to check this one out again. My initial impression was weaker than the last but will give it another go.

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Rot Stink Rip Death Metal
TOMBSTONER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Human Rosin Melodic Metalcore
HATE BREEDER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Through The Hell Hardcore Punk
ENEMY 906
Buy this album from MMA partners
Lightmatter: Rebirth Deathcore
EARTHGAZER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Eye Of Horus (Lightmatter EP Pt. 2) Deathcore
EARTHGAZER
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Agremorta - Adrocitas (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 5 days ago
Agremorta - Ploratus Umbra (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 5 days ago
Agremorta - Vertex Membrana (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 5 days ago
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR - The Temple Of Curved Space (Official Track Stream)
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR
adg211288· 5 days ago
In Sulfur - The Gate (OFFICIAL VIDEO) 2022
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 6 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed