Artist: Of Legends
Album: Stranded
Genre: Hardcore/Metal
Label: Season Of Mist

Stranded marks the first full length of Of Legends who are on the label Season of Mist alongside the likes of Kylesa and the Dillinger Escape Plan. Recently, Of Legends were openers on the ‘Explosions II’ tour featuring Norma Jean, something which made me a little more enthusiastic about this release. Considering the band is made up of members of The Secret Handshake and Sky Eats Airplane, to say there was high expectations for this release would be an understatement.

Stranded has a promising beginning. A melee of drum beats under a few drawn out guitar chords, a brief pause and then it all kicks off. It seems to be your general, run of the mill, heavier music- much like that of whom they were touring under- but there’s a definite mark up in quality here compared to countless other bands. Something of note is the briefest hints of effects throughout the release, which is noticeable but not enough so that it affects the main instrumentation and the vocals. This is a thing which a lot of bands cannot seem to get their head around and which, in my opinion, is the downfall of a lot of recent releases. A standout aspect of the album would have to be the drumming. Opposed to breakdown beat after breakdown beat, there is an array of influences noticeable- all on the heavier side, but in this case, it shines through.

Particular stand out tracks would be “Carpe Noctum,” “Consecro,” and closer “The Last Leader,” all of which play on the second half of the release. Where some bands fill out the middle with weaker songs, Of Legends seems to have stepped up a gear in the latter half. There seems to have been an extra push in every aspect, from the vocals to the lyrics to the musicianship itself. This is especially evident in “The Last Leader” which is the perfect song to sum up the release in its entirety.

In a word, this album is crushing and in nothing but a good way. It is heavy, obviously, but unlike others, it does not have that repetition that a lot of bands slumped into ‘-core’ categories fall victim to. If there was one aspect of the release I was not so much a fan of, it would be the vocals, purely because they sound slightly strained, and that is a hint of a complaint. Otherwise, this is a band I would definitely like to see in the future.

Score: 8/10
Review written by: Naomi Campbell

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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