This isn’t music you hear regularly from a country like Mexico, but it fits in nicely with the female fronted music available on this site. It is pretty strong, both in terms of composition and delivery. And it is Symphonic Operatic Gothic in every sense of the word. . .or words in this case I guess. The vocals cover the entire range of options, death metal grunting, strong clean male vocals and a wonderful female opera style from Ms. Perez. The guitars are solid if not over powering, the symphonic is used sparingly but effectively. And the lyrics are quite good, especially those written by Her Schikaneder for our friend Mr. Mozart. We’ll spend a little more time with that track as we move into a discussion of the music in general.

Legion pretty much started out as a neighborhood project by the brothers Garcia shortly after the turn of the century. Their first release, The Gate, in 2003 received positive feedback and they followed up with dates with bands like Sirenia, Trail of Tears and Opeth. This was followed by tours in Europe working with After Forever and performing at Female Voices Fest in Belgium.

The music tends to cover a lot of territory, in a pretty much classical way. Listen and Remember introduces the CD with a short, classical composition, fully orchestrated with very little from the metal realm. But the band doesn’t really kick in until the next selection, Forgotten Years. Again, there is a classical component, with some strong male vocals and with the full operatic female vocals. LoH doesn’t really do a strong heavy metal component, not the heavy guitars and drums we see from other bands in this genre. The guitars are nice, solid in fact, but they are not speed guitars or the more traditional heavy lines produced by other groups.

The strength of LoH is really the vocals. This design is evidenced in the following selection Invisible Mask. The song opens with a guitar line over a symphonic core. The vocals open with clean male vocals but eventually move to the operatic female style, positioned against the death metal vocals. . . all are quite good. This movement back and forth continues as the song progresses and, at times yields to alternative vocal sounds. Maria has a truly gifted voice and LoH does some interesting things with it. At one point in this title, there is an almost Eastern tone to the music, and a quite pleasing one at that.

Selecting the best song on a work like this is, of course, a very personal activity. For me, however, the choice is pretty easy. I have an appreciation for classical music and have long been a Mozart aficionado. For those not familiar with his work, he, and many from that time period, would have to be classified as gothic composers, in some respects similar to many on this website. And Der Holle Rache is about as gothic as you can get. LoH, and especially lead singer Maria, do a bang up job on this one, and that’s not something to be taken lightly. The vocals cover two octaves, from F4 to F6. The part was written for Mozart’s sister in law and is one of the more difficult arias in opera. In performance, it requires a high tessitura, not something easily achieved. LoH covers the song with a metal framework, guitars and drums supporting the wonderful vocals supplied by Maria. Schikaneder’s lyrics take us to a gothic environment:

German Lyrics:

Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen,

Tod und Verzweiflung flammet um mich her!

Fühlt nicht durch dich Sarastro Todesschmerzen,

So bist du meine Tochter nimmermehr.

Verstossen sei auf ewig,

Verlassen sei auf ewig,

Zertrümmert sei'n auf ewig

Alle Bande der Natur

Wenn nicht durch dich Sarastro wird erblassen!

Hört, Rachegötter, hört der Mutter Schwur!

Translation in English:

Hell's vengeance boils in my heart,

Death and despair flame about me!

If Sarastro does not, through you, feel the pain of death,

Then you will be my daughter nevermore.

Disowned be forever,

Forsaken be forever,

Destroyed be forever

All the bonds of nature

If you do not make Sarastro turn pale!

Hear, Gods of Vengeance, hear a mother's oath!

Clearly, the man knew the dark side. And could speak clearly about it.

The softer side of LoH is presented in Sacrifice. It’s a lovely vocal offering from the female vocalist, that moves to a stronger side that positions that voice against the clean vocals in a bit of a South American approach to the gothic, complete with a strong metal guitar that is softened with an acoustic side as the song progresses.

Choices presents an interpretation of the gothic sound that is both mainstream and representative of a sound that is both original and distinct. Background music is strong and supportive but it is the vocals that drive the music. And those vocals are strong across the board.

Our female vocalist has been replaced for the next release and how that will effect the band’s sound is unknown at this point. Listening to her on the website suggests she brings a strong vocal component of her own. But, replacing a vocalist who can address the most demanding requirements of some of the world’s most demanding arias is a strong task. Even Mozart would be holding his breath.

9.5 / 10