Legions of War

Mayhem

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 22, 2003)
• Original Release Date: April 22, 2003
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Season of Mist
• ASIN: B00008V5Y9
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #316,817 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Part II: A Grand Declaration of War

2. Part II: In the Lies Where Upon You Lay

3. Part II: A Time to Die

4. Part II: View from Nihil

5. Part III, Il Principe: A Bloodsword and a Colder Sun

6. Part III, Il Principe: Crystalized Pain in Deconstruction

7. Completion in Science of Agony

8. Part III, Il Principe: To Daimonion

Disc: 2

1. Silvester Anfang/Fall of Seraphs [Live]

2. Carnage [Live]

3. View from Nihil [Live]

4. To Daimonion [Live]

5. Freezing Moon [Live]

6. Chainsaw Gutsfuck [Live]

7. Pure Ucking Armageddon [Live]

8. To Daimonion [Pre-Production]

9. View from Nihil [Pre-Production]

10. In the Lies Where Upon You Lay [Pre-Production]

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two Mayhem CD's for the price of one=brilliant deal, August 12, 2005

By	JoeColeIsGod "Future Curmudgeon" (FL) - See all my reviews

Now really, who can complain about this? A smashing studio album packaged with a second disc of rippin' live tracks and demos is a nice treat to say the least.

"Grand Declaration of War" has always been one of the only black metal albums I have been able to listen to since I grew out of my metal diehard phase. I still listen to metal once in awhile, but it doesn't hold the same merit it used to. This album, however, is an exception. Unlike a lot of black metal, it is well produced, sounding like a band that has grown out of the garage sound, and also lacks the cheese factor of inverted crosses and pentagrams soaked in blood on the packaging, and lyrically speaks beyond something blaspheming the Christian church. The CD is a concept album based upon a third world war, one where the cause is rebellion against society's imposed will on the masses. Plain and simple, this album is effective due to its varied approach. Instead of beating you to death with blastbeats and screams, it creates a cold atmosphere with vocal effects, soundbites of bombs exploding, and a really moody techno/electronica track midway, and also effectively uses silence to make you feel as though you are the survivor of this brutal war. That's not to say this doesn't bring the metal--Hellhammer still pummels you without mercy, and Blasphemer shreds some of the best and most intricate riffs since Emperor invaded my life with "Anthems to the Welkin At Dusk." Maniac sounds just like his name would suggest, varying his approach with spoken word and screams, interspersed with industrial voice effects throughout. The songs themselves are well-written and would be effective without the concept.

The live disc enclosed, "European Legions," is a decent add-on. The live tracks are of great quality, very raw next to the studio album's crystalline sound, and extremely intense. These guys certainly haven't lost their edge as time has progressed. The song selection snags some favorites from years past as well as showing off how "War" sounds on stage. The demos from "War" don't do much for me, as they basically sound like their studio counterparts, but oh well. They're there regardless.

That being said, I found this deal to be very good, and well worth the cash invested. The album is a weekly visitor to the stereo, and is still one of my favorite metal records to this day. It caught a lot of flak with the diehards, who hated to see this band progress out of their "Deathcrush" days, but frankly, this sounds ten times better. It sounds confident, mature, scary as hell, skillful, and best of all, original. "Grand Declaration" is without a doubt one of the better records in my collection, one I am proud to own, and something I see myself pumping for years to come.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 2 cd's for the price of one., April 29, 2003

By A Customer

Okay, before you order Legions of War, keep in mind this is not a new album. That's what I thought when I bought this. You get 2 cd's, Grand Declaration of War and European Legions(Live cd). If you already have both of these cd's don't buy it. Otherwise, it's a good deal. The sound quality on their live cd is good. My question is, when are they going to release a new album????????

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Live Mayhem, April 30, 2003

By A Customer

Legions of War isn't a bad idea.You get European Legions, a live cd. And you get Grand Declaration of War. The sound quality is good, plus Mayhem play their songs faster on the live cd. This is a good deal.