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He Is Legend

Suck Out The Poison

Written by: TL on 18/01/2007 00:32:18

This is it. The moment I finally write what I've been putting off for what has begun to seem like eternity. It's strange really that I've been this hesitant, for what we are dealing with tonight is by no means an album below the average. What I'm going on about is the sophomore album from He Is Legend, and the reason I give myself for this delay is the fact that the sound of this band is strangely unique, without striking you as being overly characteristic.

You could say that He Is Legend is a hardcore or even a metalcore band, but the problem is that the associations you're already having, aren't anywhere near anything to do with how they sound. People who have heard the debut "I Am Hollywood", will recognize the coarse vocals that sounds like the frontman has a serious abuse of whiskey and cigarettes going on. Vocals that are mostly used for (relatively) clean singing, only breaking into screams during the most powerful moments of the songs. Instead of playing hardcore in the usual destructive manner, composition is more minded towards creating groovy passages that change quickly and create a variety of moods, which are all giving you impressions of dirty, dusty, nocturnal scenes. Maybe it's this dirty feeling that makes you want to connect the music with the so called "southern rock" genre.

Overall, I'd say that He Is Legend is one of the few bands, which can rightfully boast of having a sound so unique and widespread that 'rock' is the most narrow label you can put on it. The problem with "Suck Out The Poison" is however not the sound. The lyrics in the songs pick up where the ones of the songs on the previous release left off, as a lot of the titles would suggest. "(The Seduction Of) Dixie Wolf" is a 'sequel' to "The Seduction", "China White II" continues "China White" and so on. This is all very smart and interesting, but it fails when it comes to concealing the shortcomings of this album, namely the inconsistent quality of the songs.

The opening threefold punch of "(The Seduction Of) Dixie Wolf", "Attack Of The Dungeon Witch" and "Suck Out The Poison" amaze you with their brilliance and gets your hopes up high, which turns out to be a problem, considering how the trip through the rest of the tracks is a bumpy road and only on the closing track "(((louds" does the band close in on the charateristica and quality of the opening tracks. The tracks in between simply seem to lack the power, the punch and the attitude of the initial trio. It is actually a damn shame, but the severe contrast between highs and lows on "Suck Out The Poison" chains the record to the ground. With these restraints, the album never reaches beyond a grade of

Download: Dixie Wolf, Attack Of The Dungeon Witch, Suck Out The Poison,
For the fans of: Every Time I Die, Poison The Well,
Listen: MySpace

Release Date: 03.10.2006
Solid State Records