Tomorrow, Legion of Andromeda will be releasing their debut full-length, Iron Scorn, on Crucial Blast — you know, the same label in league with Gnaw Their Tongues and Theologian. So right off the bat, you know to expect something a bit off-the-beaten-path but nonetheless extreme. And while the Tokyo duo does indeed deliver a hypnotic, industrialized blend of death-doom, there’s not really enough range in the album to hold your attention for very long.
Aristotle, speaking on repetition, once said “It is not once nor twice, but times without number that the same ideas make their appearance in the world.” And on Iron Scorn, those words couldn’t be more relevant. The lyrics and riff structures may change from track to track, but there’s just not a lot of variety to be found beyond that. The sound is interesting — Mortician meets Godflesh, poured through a doom metal strainer — but the band leans a bit too heavily on it throughout the album.
The first three tracks showcase almost identical cadences and rhythmic patterns, and the constant bombast of the cymbal usage is near maddening. It simply does not change. At all. Vocalist -R- gets pretty gutteral, plumbing the hateful depths of death metal, but not sufficiently enough to right the ship. The band finally mixes things up a bit on track number four, “Scourge of Pestilence,” which unfolds a time shift on the drums, and draws things out a bit slower, in an almost doomy manner. This slower pace continues until closer “Fist of Hammurabi” — which, aside from -M-‘s guitar sound, feels like a carbon copy of the album’s first three tracks. By this point it’s just a bit much. This is where I yielded.
It’s a shame Iron Scorn starts to feel so same-sounding, as its underlying sound isn’t really comparable to anything you’re likely to hear in the near future. In the end, simply being “different” isn’t enough to merit repeat listens, though. For Legions of Andromeda’s sake, you have to hope they mix it up a bit more next time out.
– Josh
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