Legacy of Brutality Horde:
Simón - Vocals
Yoye - Guitars
Borja Suárez - Guitars
Lalo - Bass
Javi - Drums
This is the fourth album from Spanish death metallers Legacy of Brutality.
After three prior full-lengths, Spanish melodic death metallers Legacy Of Brutality (or, umm, LOB) ratchet up the ambitiousness and audacity for album number four. While the back half of Travellers To Nowhere continues the band’s modest push to a more epic sound, the first half finds them going all-in in one grandiose gesture. The result is the nearly 21-minute title track that opens the album with a little bit of just about everything – at least eventually. Instead of trying to cram as much as they could into the song from the get-go or tying things together with the usual connective tissue or dramatic/cinematic trappings, LOB actually to the sensible thing here and let things unfold in a somewhat natural manner. The slow-build intro doesn’t scream “massive epic to come” a la “2112” or “Starlifter” from the very Rush-like new album by Crown Lands, and LOB get right down to business soon thereafter with blast beats, slashing riffs and rousing choruses combining for an In Flames meets Sepultura with a side of Amon Amarth effect. An epic turn, however, does begin around four minutes with a Maiden-like sweep of dramatic harmony guitars before another blasty burst takes things in a darker, more brutal direction for a long stretch that features some black metally trems to boot. A graceful lead break lets the band catch their breath at the midway point before they blast off again. The chorus is reintroduced around the 13-minute mark and probably would have made a logical end point. But after a chunky, chuggy section where Borja Suárez and Jaime Méndez spend much of the time trading solos, LOB keep at it by circling back and reprising the song’s first verse. “Travellers” wraps, somewhat predictably, with a somber, soft-spoken outro that again showcases Suárez and Méndez’s elegant guitar work. Despite its considerable length and multiple personalities, “Travellers” moves right along and never really bogs down thanks to, as noted above, what the band leaves out here. And that makes Side B, if you will, far less of a mismatch – a la the aforementioned 2112. The four tracks that close the album offer many of the same ingredients as the expansive “Travellers” – surging riffs, hurtling tempos, snappy hooks and a fair bit of melody, deft solos and the commanding shouts of frontman Simón García – in more easily digestible chunks that average out to about five minutes each. They retain the energy and purpose of the opening magnum opus, which means there is no let down – or let up – in its aftermath.
Legacy of Brutality play death metal that is backed up by melodic might. Theirs is a recipe that takes many well-used ingredients, but deploys them in ways that end up very tasty and satisfying indeed. Travellers to Nowhere contains five songs and has a length of 40 minutes. Almost exactly half of this is made up by the opening title track, with its epic 21-minute duration and equally epic composition. Legacy of Brutality aren’t lacking in ambition, and they pull it off their lofty goals with ease. Packed with riffs and melodic aggression, Legacy of Brutality’s music is fast and brutal. It’s a surprisingly detailed and graceful affair though. The songs are heavy and textured, layered with melodic colour and driven by expressive guitars and nuanced vocals. The music is well-written and showcases a band with a firm sense of identity and personality. Parts of Travellers to Nowhere are as scathingly brutal as anything by bands like Hate Eternal or Hour of Penance, while others are as richly melodic and uplifting as only the best heavy or power metal acts can be. There’s a prime melodic death metal influence that when immersed in all of the other aspects of the band’s style, recalls everything from In Flames to Kataklysm to Hypocrisy to Malevolent Creation to Opeth. There’s a touch of Amon Amarth‘s stadium-friendly songcraft here and there too, alongside some emotive heaviness that Gojira would be proud of. The vocals are as unexpectedly diverse and well-rounded as the music. As well as an array of growls, screams, and shouts, the singer is also capable of some devastating semi-cleans/roars that burn like acid. Very good stuff. Yes, there’s more going on here than you’d expect, yet Travellers to Nowhere is gloriously death metal at its core. Legacy of Brutality have produced a well-crafted death metal feast that they should be proud of. Legacy of Brutality have impressed. For a band I’d never heard of until recently, Travellers to Nowhere is a death metal extravaganza that I wasn’t expecting.
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