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Sad Legend > Sad Legend > Reviews
Sad Legend - Sad Legend

A Masterpiece that Should Have Had Much More Attention - 100%

SwampOfSatan, May 9th, 2020

I first discovered this album after listening to Oathean's 'Solace of the Grave' on YouTube. When I was finished listening to that particular Oathean song, I saw the first track of Sad Legend's self-titled debut album (the album being reviewed right now) being recommended. 'Han' was shown to me on the sidebar recommendations. I assumed it was a South-Korean band since I was listening to Oathean which is also a South-Korean band. I am always eager to listen to extreme metal acts of other countries that are not recognized for such genres. Eventually, I checked the band on metal archives and it turned out I was correct about the country of origin. So, I clicked on 'Han' and began listening. I was instantly amazed. After I had finished listening to the song I thought to myself that "maybe this was just a fluke in the album", as it was the case with majority of the black metal albums I heard. To make sure 'Han' wasn't the only highlight on the album; I decided to check out all the other songs on this album. To my surprise, there wasn't a single bad track, and 'Han' didn't even turn out to be my favorite on the album.

My favorite track would be 'Nocturnal Cries of Agony'. The symphonic intro which ends at around 0:50 makes me feel as if I’m galloping through a field as I am riding a horse on beautiful sky night like the one shown on the album cover. When the intro is over the vocals and drumming get very aggressive. I'd also like to mention how good the riff around 2:20 sounds. About halfway through the song there are harsh vocals combined with cleans which I really enjoy. When the part with the dual vocals is over the same riff played at 2:20 is played again in a softer tone. This keeps on going until 5:30 when the signature symphony is played. After this, the aggressiveness of the vocals and drums return. The song ends with a short synth ending after all instruments take a stop at the same time. Overall, this just a very beautiful song and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes melodic black metal.

Musically, this album is very synth-oriented and melodic. The harsh and clean vocals go along perfectly with the symphonic harmonies as well as certain parts of the lead guitar. Most of the riffs coming out of the rhythm guitar are very Dissection-like. In my opinion this makes the album sound even better. The bass blends in really well to the atmospheric synths. The drums are a bit too low on the mix when compared to how high the mixing on the lead guitar and synths are, but honestly that just improves the album's atmosphere. One last thing to mention is that the drummer is also the lead vocalist, which is pretty impressive as you don't see that often. To my surprise, the drummer-vocalist Naamah was the same person who played solely drums on Holymarsh’s ‘In the Holymarsh’ - an album I've heard before.

To end this review, I’d like to say that it’s truly a shame that this band did not have much attention or influence due to their place of origin. This album is truly unique - something that no band has ever attempted to make before. Just imagine how many people would know of Sad Legend's existence if this album was to be released in Europe. The sad truth is that most black metal acts in other parts of the world are relatively unknown to those living elsewhere than the band's country of origin.

Unique - 95%

KayTeeBee, October 5th, 2004

Sad Legend is a band that I had never heard of before (only that a few members are in Holymarsh), so I picked this up just out of curiousity. As soon as the first song started, I was immediately blown away.

The first song, "Han" is my favourite song on the album. The melodic verse is probably the best melodic black verse I may have ever heard.(Or one of the best).
I totally love how the clean vocals follow the guitar's melody, and how it switches to harsh vocals. The instrumental parts in this song are almost even better. The song ends pretty slowly. The next song up, "Dawn of Despair", is a bit slower and the song delivers a bit of sorrow/sadness. Verses are still very melodic, with a little bit of high clean vocals here and there. The instrumental parts are a bit boring though,
a bit more variety here wouldn't be bad.

"Nocturnal Cries Of Agony" is next, and this one is a bit faster, and yet always remaining melodic. The instrumental parts are a bit slower, and it has some great drum fills. The clean guitar parts were great, with harsh vocals in the back. This song felt a bit too long though; it could've easily been 4-5 minutes long. "Under Emptiness On The Dusk-Fallen Lake", the album's 4th song, starts off a bit slower than the other songs, and it's more keyboard oriented (especially in the intro). The melodies in this song are a bit different, they aren't unique like the melodies in the other songs. However, this one didn't feel too long. I didn't get bored at all listening to it.

"Realm Of The Soulless" is my second favourite song on the album (and the shortest song too). The song starts off with an simple, yet beautiful keyboard melody. The guitar melodies in verses are similiar to the ones in the other songs, and the harsh vocals too. The only thing I dislike about this song is the fact that it's too short; it could've easily been 4-5 minutes! "Reincarnation" is a faster song, it's more agressive, and it had less breaks, mainly standard black metal riffs throughout. I especially liked the riff around 0:30. The last song on the album, "A Funeral In Solitude", is without a doubt the song that contains the most emotion out of all the song on this album. It's a bit slower compared to the other songs, and its riffs are more simple. The song feels a bit long, but I liked the choir in the end, great ending for this album.

As a whole, all the songs on this album are very melodic, and more guitar oriented. I would've liked to see acoustic parts, or perhaps more keyboards. I liked the mix of high clean vocals and harsh vocals ( it adds some variety). Most of the guitar riffs are very memorable, and everything as a whole sounds unique. I can't really compare it to any other band/album, since the sound is so unique! Anyways, one thing's for sure: it's extremely melodic. Favourite Songs: Han, Realm Of The Soulless.