''Legion'' is the second album by American death metal band

Deicide Deicide is the killing (or the killer) of a god. The concept may be used for any act of killing a god, including a life-death-rebirth deity who is killed and then resurrected. Etymology The term deicide was coined in the 17th century from m ...

. It was released by Roadrunner Records on June 9, 1992.

Background

''Legion'' is one of Deicide's most musically ambitious releases, incorporating more technical

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...

ing and song structures. The band considers this album to be its most difficult, and claims it is too chaotic. When the Hoffman brothers quit the band, Eric Hoffman stated that one of the main reasons was

Glen Benton Glen Benton (born June 18, 1967) is an American death metal musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist and bassist for the death metal band Deicide and was also a part of the band Vital Remains, where he has performed in recording sessions a ...

refusing to play longer sets and being unable to perform the technical bass guitar riffing required for ''Legions material. Though the album is a favourite of fans, "Dead But Dreaming" is the only song from it to remain in the band's live set (though as recently as 2010 the band has begun playing "Trifixion" and "Holy Deception" as well). Unlike Deicide's first album, no pitch shifters or harmonizers were used on Benton's vocals. However, delay, reverb, and multi-tracking were among the studio manipulations used to achieve the vocal effects on the album. The first track, "Satan Spawn, the Caco-Daemon", features a backward message. At about twenty seconds, a voice can be heard repeating the song's title. Steve Asheim said of ''Legion'', "For ''Legion'', I was too busy worrying about how we were going to get a second album out to really think about what it meant, I was just trying to stay in the music business and stay brutal."

Reviews

A reviewer for The Metal Storm said, "in general a good album, some songs are well executed and with complex musical writing, but there are others that are just very simple and repetitive".Deicide – Legion Review – Metal Storm
/ref> Vincent Jeffries of

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stated, "''Legion'' stands out as a musically complex but familiar offering from the band. Live favorite 'Trifixion' is indeed one of the better cuts from the release, but it's easier to consider this disc (and most records like it) as a whole. Deicide's compositions and performances are solid and serious throughout". He also suggested, "newer death metal fans will do well to start off their collection with Legion".

Track listing

Personnel

– bass; vocals *Eric Hoffman – guitars *Brian Hoffman – guitars * Steve Asheim – drums *Deicide – production * Scott Burns – production, mixing

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legion (Album) 1992 albums Deicide (band) albums Roadrunner Records albums Albums produced by Scott Burns (record producer) Albums recorded at Morrisound Recording