LEGACY OF DISORDER

Last Man Standing

Freilich & Sons
rating icon 6.5 / 10

Track listing:

01. Thorns
02. Punish All
03. March to Death
04. Last Man Standing
05. Break
06. Hell Tonight
07. Impaler
08. Warrior Gene
09. Came to Fight


I'd call it Pure American Metal if all but one member of LEGACY OF DISORDER weren't based in New Zealand. However, the one guy that isn't a New Zealander, drummer Matt Thompson, is a Texan who got connected to LEGACY OF DISORDER through the band's Dallas-based producer Sterling Winfield (PANTERA, HELLYEAH, DAMAGEPLAN). As such, the American Metal (or PANTERA-by-way-of-early-MACHINE-HEAD-edged) sound begins to make some sense. And for almost half the album that sound translates to some hardy 'n' hooky, no-nonsense metal.

Specifically, the first four songs hit the spot with a convincing power-drive and thrash-based focus. In fact, it is TESTAMENT more than PANTERA that informs opener "Thorns", an up-tempo thrasher with a strong melody and a mid-range bark from lead vocalist James Robinson that drops to a near-growl (ala Chuck Billy, sort of). Momentum and punch is maintained on "Punish All" and "March to Death", and gets kicked up a notch on the standout title track. It is on "Break" that momentum begins to wane, the song's searing solo section notwithstanding. Not bad at all; just unspectacular.

That's pretty much the way it stays through "Hell Tonight" (the speak-sing, almost-rapped vocal patterns don't work very well),"Impaler", "Warrior Gene", and "Came to Fight". A little better than average — with a stout Winfield production that emphasizes instrument separation — is how those last five tracks come across. An album's worth of material matching the first four tunes would have made for a bloody good stomper. Instead "Last Man Standing" on the whole ends up one that convinces in a metallic sense, but falls short in terms of songwriting consistency. It's quite likeable, but a long way from essential.

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