One of the strongest debuts of the year comes from Crete. Thy Legacy released «The Call» on September 11 through Nameless Grave Records, the American label based in Seattle that works exclusively in the epic and traditional sound.
Country: Greece
Genre: Epic Heavy Metal
For fans of: Omen, Manowar, Eternal Champion, Battleroar, Wrathblade
The record has eight tracks and runs 32 minutes, with no excess: «Heavy Metal Rising», «The Call», «Metal Legion», «Holy Storm», «Chasing Glory», «The Amulet», «Seven Witches» and «The Road To Helheim».
Behind the names are Retaliatör on vocals and guitar, A.D. Guillotine on guitar, Kerkermeister on bass and Rythm Hawk on drums. Guitars, bass and drums were recorded by Yannis Pratikakis at Groove Studio, while the vocals were recorded by Nikos Trialonis at Mad Hat Music, who also did the mix. Mastering was handled by Bart Gabriel and the cover by Mars Triumph.
Musically, «The Call» moves in epic heavy metal with American power influences. The three tracks released first — «Metal Legion», «Seven Witches» and «Heavy Metal Rising» — showed the mark early: fast tempos, twin guitars and refrains made for sing-alongs.
Our take
«The Call» does not hide where it comes from. Its sound stands firmly on the American scene of the early 80s — Omen, Armored Saint — and passes through the Greek tradition of epic metal, from Wrathblade to the early years of Battleroar, to reach the new-epic style of Eternal Champion. The influences are clearly audible, yet the album does not sound like a copy: Thy Legacy use them to build something with a character of its own.
The singer has a high, theatrical tone, with a sense of grandeur that recalls David DeFeis of Virgin Steele, and he keeps the same intensity across all eight tracks. The solos are wild, with shredding that binds with the songs instead of interrupting them, and the refrains are made to be sung by the crowd live — something that is not at all a given in this genre.
Where the album loses ground is in its consistency: alongside the strong tracks there are moments that do not carry the idea to the end, and compared to the year’s best in new-epic territory, «The Call» stays a step behind. That is not what you will remember, though, from a debut.
In its 32 minutes, Thy Legacy show that they know what they want to play and they play it with energy that comes out of the speakers. For a first record, with their own hands and with a label behind them that works exclusively in this sound, it is one of the most interesting Greek releases of the year.
Find them
- Bandcamp: thylegacy.bandcamp.com/album/the-call
- Facebook: thylegacyofficial
- Instagram: thylegacy.official
- Label: Nameless Grave Records
See also: Mace ’n’ Chain – Crowned in Grey Skies | TRIUMPHER – Piercing the Heart of the World
