This is the fourth album from Spanish death metallers Legacy of Brutality.
Legacy of Brutality play death metal that is backed up by melodic might. Theirs is a recipe that takes many well-used ingredients, but deploys them in ways that end up very tasty and satisfying indeed.
Travellers to Nowhere contains five songs and has a length of 40 minutes. Almost exactly half of this is made up by the opening title track, with its epic 21-minute duration and equally epic composition. Legacy of Brutality aren’t lacking in ambition, and they pull it off their lofty goals with ease.
Packed with riffs and melodic aggression, Legacy of Brutality’s music is fast and brutal. It’s a surprisingly detailed and graceful affair though. The songs are heavy and textured, layered with melodic colour and driven by expressive guitars and nuanced vocals.
The music is well-written and showcases a band with a firm sense of identity and personality. Parts of Travellers to Nowhere are as scathingly brutal as anything by bands like Hate Eternal or Hour of Penance, while others are as richly melodic and uplifting as only the best heavy or power metal acts can be. There’s a prime melodic death metal influence that when immersed in all of the other aspects of the band’s style, recalls everything from In Flames to Kataklysm to Hypocrisy to Malevolent Creation to Opeth. There’s a touch of Amon Amarth‘s stadium-friendly songcraft here and there too, alongside some emotive heaviness that Gojira would be proud of.
The vocals are as unexpectedly diverse and well-rounded as the music. As well as an array of growls, screams, and shouts, the singer is also capable of some devastating semi-cleans/roars that burn like acid. Very good stuff.
Yes, there’s more going on here than you’d expect, yet Travellers to Nowhere is gloriously death metal at its core. Legacy of Brutality have produced a well-crafted death metal feast that they should be proud of.
Legacy of Brutality have impressed. For a band I’d never heard of until recently, Travellers to Nowhere is a death metal extravaganza that I wasn’t expecting.
Very highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 