Back into the abyss, back to the years where the tales from the crypt meant something, where devilish figures would spread their evil binding weak souls under their wings with steel chains. There were also times where people recognized this as the inner soul of Heavy Metal music as it is proclaimed by plenty of degenerates that this is the music of the Devil, the rhythms of hell and its followers. On the other hand, things have changed in Metal music and its perceptions. Yet, there are still those that crave for the old blood, the wicked attitudes, the feeling of being evil and relentless. Getting to know the Swedish trio of DIE HARD made me look back into the eyes of early versions of VENOM, MOTORHEAD, SODOM, SLAYER, SEPULTURA, probably bits of POSSESSED and KREATOR as well. Through their second album "Conjure The Legions", released via Agonia Records, I knew that evil has no end, even if part of it is a bit of a sham and only servicing as an act of black and white, and that roughness has its own edge. Even so, I can't deny that within a hefty chunk of what I witnessed on this very album is the product of predictability and ordinariness.

No doubt about it that there is something rather different between DIE HARD and various of other new Metal acts trying to accomplish the glorious moments of the darkness infested Thrash Metal as the early gods like VENOM reached back in the day. DIE HARD has Simon as their sole lead guitarist, but no just your ordinary guitarist, this guy has a spark, a wonderful touch for incredible Heavy Metal / Hard Rock soloing. His poise actually saved a few of the songs on the tracklist. It is shameful that his rhythm guitar work wasn't as exciting as his well written and performed licks. Well several of the riffing did bring me to bang my head, the ones that led into the pit by simple yet effective rhythms. Other than Mr. Simon that just cracked me up with his lead fretwork DIE HARD were produced well on this album. Other than sounding raw as their outer figure suggests, their produced seemed to be more ordered, strong with a sharpened edge aiding to distinguish every channel recorded (I would say great mixing and mastering for whoever did the work, I couldn't credit anyone because it wasn't mentioned in the promotional kit). I had good old time with "Thrash Them All", "Sanctify the Morbid" and "Stand Up". DIE HARD spread their blackened and deathly hype and their utter disbelief of anything that isn't following their terms, for that I salute them as consistency is a virtue, especially in Metal music.

However, it didn't end there. That is the reason why "Conjure The Legions" didn't exactly meet my expectations. I wasn't really looking for mega hits but maybe a little bit less repetitiveness and something a little more invigorating. The large majority of the riffing just came back to haunt without diverting into new areas. As I mentioned earlier, Simon really helped with his wonderful guitar work, yet the vocal efforts by Harry lowered everything down again. His dull and flatline voice pattern turned this shebang into something a bit Punky, though devilish, in the same manner of several of the old MOTORHEAD examples. He made me think of Cronos and The Demolition Man, but for some reason he didn't excite as they did in the past and still do in the present. For now, DIE HARD, named after VENOM's hit song by the same name, won't be the next VENOM with this new album, they sound heavy with a blackened posture and a wicked attitude, but there is still work to be done but hey, I am not too bit worried about them.