My friends in Legacy of Disorder have premiered a new video today for the song 'Last Man Standing' which is to be included on the as of yet untitled new album due later this year. For any readers that are unaware, Legacy of Disorder is a great unsigned band out of New Zealand(one of them is a Yank)that brings thrash and hardcore influences to the table. I did a review of their self titled debut last year and conducted an interview with guitarist Rana Freilich that was alot of fun. Somebody sign these guys already, would ya?. Until then here's the premiere of their new video.
A couple of weeks ago I did a promo piece on New Zealand's Legacy of Disorder which you can check out here. Communications continued afterward and I was able to land an interview via e-mail with guitarist Rana Freilich. He did a pretty good job of answering questions even the silly ones. So sit back as we talk about New Zealand, hobbits, tornados, and metal after the jump. Also included is the video for the track 'The Beginning' which shows a softer side to the guys. Sort of. Enjoy. Hey guys,
I hope the holidays are treating you well. Here are the questions I came up with to share with my readers on That Devil Music if you would be so kind to answer. Here we go.
1.If you were to explain your music to someone unfamiliar with the band, how would you describe Legacy of Disorder to them?
To me Legacy is straight to the point...with a heavy aggressive sound great riffs and important lyrics. You get a variety of vocals james can switch between heavy and melodic well and you get heavy kickass riffs and thoughtful solos and badass drums supported by some great bass guitar. I feel legacy covers most bases. We have a view while writing new material that often less is more if you know what I mean. The sound of Legacy is uncluttered and we wish to keep it that way. Legacy's motto is the song is king...
2.Just how big is the metal scene in New Zealand? Do you have a pretty good fan base there? I only ask that because I think we Americans can be a bit ignorant of anything outside of the U.S or Britain.
New Zealand definately has a metal scene happening here but theres simply far less people...I dont think its accepted as well as it is in america though. Metal is a big market in the U.S. We have a pretty reasonable fan base for how long we've been going and for the size of our country..We are very keen indeed to get and have our music heard all around the world!!! especially in the U.S!!
3.In my review for the band I mentioned being reminded of bands like Pantera and Devildriver. Is that a fair assessment of influences or are there other bands you draw inspiration from?
Yes I feel Pantera is definately an influence...devildriver was a surprise but a good one..haha. There are many influence in our music...to name a few...Iron maiden, slayer, slipknot, black sabbath to lamb of god...honestly due to there being age differences from 23 to 37 there are a wide range of influences. Most importantly we have our own sound.
4.This question is for Matt. How does it feel to be the only American in the band? Did you have any Visa issues like many bands have when travelling back forth?
Matt isnt here with me at the moment...but matt hasnt had any problems at all regarding visa's etc. And I really don't feel matt minds being the only american haha...That way he's got three crazy Kiwi's to hang and jam with.
5.The self titled debut was produced by Sterling Winfield who also produced Pantera and Damageplan. What was the experience working him like? And are you working with him again on the new album?
The experience working with Sterling was second to none...we learnt so much and really embraced it. And from that we became a better band and also better individual musicians I feel. Yes Sterling will be mixing our new album. And we wish to carry on working with Sterling in the future for sure!!
6.How sick are you guys of hearing about Hobbits and Peter Jackson by now?
Haha I kinda thought NZ was bitching over jackshit!!! just get the movie made so we can watch dodgy sneaky hobbits...dunno why but I kinda find hobbits sneaky...but all the books and movies so far have been fantastic..
7.I understand Legacy of Disorder is looking to go on tour. What would be your dream tour package?
Dream tour aye...ummm that would have to be with slayer, lamb of god haha with plenty of fun and partying!!! Honestly for us to go out with any well known band in our genre would be great for us. We are hanging to get on a good tour!! we really are.
8.Here is your chance to name drop. What tours have you been on in the past and can you share any odd stories?
We really havnt gone out with any major acts...that is what we are trying to make happen. We've had shitloads of fun on all the touring we have done though. And as for odd stories man there have been some odd things happen all right...our first time to Oklahoma was out of it...first we saw a tornado and loads of lightning all around us secondly we had to pull over on the highway as it was raining so hard we couldnt see the road ahead of us...then thirdly we got a flat tyre in the pouring rain and were running late for our gig. We don't see tornados or weather quite like that in NZ.. IT WAS LIKE FUCK THIS REALLY DID HAPPEN IN THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ!!
9.What kind of gear do you guys use and do you have any endorsements yet?
Matt uses tama and a variety of cymbals when he is here in NZ. Matt isnt with me here so I can't give you a full rundown of his exact equipment sorry. I use ESP with EMG pickups..PRS also on our new album to help with the rhythm. My main axe is my esp though. Peavey 5150 series 2 heads and marshall with vintage 30's several dime wahs and a digitech pedal and several other bits n piece my rig is simple and bullet proof. Im very happy with it. Jase uses ESP also and ampeg svt pro 4 amps and mesa boogie cabs. James uses shure mics live but for our new album has usesd some different mics that sound great.We have no endorsements...but please feel free to offer us some!!!!!
10.Going back to a new album, can you give us any information on it? What can we expect in relation to the first album?
Our new album I feel is carved of any unnessary fat...nothing drags on. The songs are thoughtful and solid with some great gear changes. I really feel the band has grown and the fans will be very happy with our new album. We were happy with our debut but feel this new album is a good step up!!!If you enjoyed our first album your gonna get slammed in the face by our new album...we hope to have the new album out by march 2011.
11.The holidays are coming up, what is a typical New Zealand Christmas like and do you guys have any plans?
A typical xmas over here I guess is hanging with friends and familly having a good time and enjoying the weather...but being big bad heavy metaller's we also enjoy the joys of drinking excessively haha. We are really busy with getting our new album recorded and then we are making another video clip pretty much straight after. I feel xmas this year for the band will be spending time with our loved ones as we are hoping to be really fuckin busy next year!!! and often our loved ones miss out on us!!!
12.Is there any final plugs or information you would like to share with the readers out there?
Please give us a listen!!! we are darn serious at what we do and are here for the long haul!!! we really want our music to get out worldwide and will continue through thick n thin to do this!!!
Thanks Rana for giving an entertaining interview to the readers:) As promised here is the video we were asked to post of 'The Beginning'.
So check these guys out. They really want to succeed and have the talent to do so, so give them a shot and if you like it buy the self titled. Look for the new album in March.
I received an e-mail from David Spaur who is the promoter for New Zealand based band Legacy of Disorder. He put together a pretty decent package of promotional items including the self titled debut by the band. I'm currently listening to it at as I write and I have to say this is a fantastic slab of groove thrash. I'm actually surprised this was released way back in 2008 and no one has talked about this yet. Every track is a punishing 3 to 6 minute set of riffs that give a nod to Devildriver and Pantera. And it's no wonder since they tapped Sterling Winfield to produce it who also produced Reinventing the Steel and Damageplan's debut.But a nod is all it is because these guys have their own sound.
Vocalist James Robinson has a power to his voice that rivals such vocalist as Phil Anselmo( in his prime) and Chuck Billy in that he can go from raspy singing to roaring thrash vocals. Rana Freilich can lay down some pretty good riffs in the vein of Exodus and this is actually his strong suit.Matt Thompson is the lone American in the group and his drumming does remind me of Vinnie Paul with his liberal use of snares and double bass.And bassist Jason Keill is pretty good at laying the lines down in a consistent manner.
The songs themselves tend to lean towards the brotastic tough guy area but it's not nearly as annoying as it could be. They have so much going on in each that you don't have time to fixate on if they're good lyrically but they are considering the nature of the source. 'Pay the Price' even flirts with a clean chorus which is average at best but it provides a nice change of pace to the other songs. Final thoughts and more materials after the jump.
So yes. I thoroughly enjoyed this album and recommend it to anybody that loves thrash or maybe even hardcore. There is something here for everybody and is exactly what metal should be. It's not heavy and br00tal for the sake of being heavy and br00tal. These guys have crafted songs that are not boring or fall into a repetitive trap.Here is the video for Facade to get a taste of what these guys are about.
Check them out in these locations to find out more.
