LEGIONS OF DOOM - The Skull 3
September 23, 2024, 3 days ago
(Tee Pee)
This is a bit confusing, but what we have here are songs co-written by doom legend Eric Wagner before he died in 2021 for what would have been the third record by The Skull, who ruled.
Blind-era COC vocalist Karl Agell and ex-Saint Vitus frontman Scott Reagers here take over the mic duties, backed up by drummer Henry Vasquez (Pentagram, Saint Vitus), guitarists Lothar Keller (The Skull) and Scott Little (Leadfoot), and bassist Ron Holzner (Trouble, The Skull). So, new band, Legions Of Doom, but first order of business is paying tribute to Wagner with this material, and even one song (“Heaven”) with Wagner himself singing.
Confused yet? This review is almost over and I'm still wrapping my head around it all, and also coming to terms with this: Wagner's voice was one of a kind, and going in to this with the man on my mind then... not hearing him is disappointing, but these songs are great, “Hallow By All Means” truly a hypnotic and epic closer, and opener “Beyond The Shadow Of Doubt” is heavy, soulful, doomy, southern, memorable... man, it would have soared with Wagner.
As is, hey, it flies, the riffs are huge, it just serves simultaneously as a tribute and as an upsetting reminder of what we lost, Agell and Reagers doing some seriously heavy lifting here and doing a good job, it's just a job no man can pull off. Looking forward to hopefully more Legions Of Doom material, where I will be able to process and enjoy a bit more.
