Over the years I came to learn that Metal's first power movement, NWOBHM, shaped into quite a selection of figures and faces. Some were simple minded bands issuing straightforward material, others turned to the progressive side of Hard Rock later to be called Metal and then there were those that just stood in the dark, appeared as slightly vague, but certainly not to be reckoned as unstable. The UK Jersey band LEGEND, not closer to the one from Kent, once was a short lived act, yet achieved quite a lot back in its youth days with a duo of full length albums and an EP. For four years that band stood tall, one of the murkiest acts, yet much musically heterogeneous in comparison to the other roaming groups, until the glory end. After two compilations of their earlier works and demos, 2002 saw the band's return to the Metal scene, still akin by NWOBHM. A little more than a decade afterwards, LEGEND discharged their second release since their comeback entitled "The Dark Place", via High Roller Records, as dark as their music can be, so please keep your merriment mood at bay.

As their chosen title, LEGEND preserved their special kind of mistiness. At first I thought that I am about to listen to such a Doom / Heavy Metal outburst kind of like WITCHFINDER GENERAL, however it became apparent that LEGEND are somewhat livelier even with their darkened halo looming over their song writing. There is fine measure of suspense and mysteriousness within a shard of the songs, nonetheless, I gradually gathered that LEGEND can also be a tad simpler, keeping it attention grabbing and memorable to a certain extent. I noticed that the riffing has a path into 70s and early 80s BLACK SABBATH, especially since LEGEND seemed to have taken the gloomy path, but with this riff based vision, there is a fine joining of eloquent melodic glimpses and various artistic lead guitar fretwork slowly building up with an atmospheric perseverance inflamed by a few acoustic guitaring sequences. On the other hand, LEGEND opened up their gates with a little Rock N' Roll loose out of the ball and chain of the edge of darkness, a direction which kind of resembled to early 80s DEF LEPPARD offerings. However, LEGEND still preserved their ominous attitude and their haze.

"Taste Of Life", one of the tracks from the band's debut, displayed on this release as a re-recorded longer version. I believe it to be one of the darkest outcomes this band ever made, featuring a main riff out of the late 70s and hailing with gloomy bass overhead. Its intro is pure elegance only to later on unveil the original song with a better sound engineering with a tasty freshness. Nonetheless, form what could have been classic, it pictured as a rather tedious. "Too Late to Be a Hero" is the other way around from the former; punching it with early 80s oriented Heavy Metal meets Hard Rock, a highly familiar combo of the bands of that period. Its main riff is pretty steady, well written but actually it was the best thing that the guitar players could offer other than a shred solo effort. Mike Lezala shares a quality voice, always harmonized as mostly on display throughout the album. I would say that modern times needed a track with such a manner. "The Dark Place", "Halls Of The Dead" and "Burn With Your Demons", at least for me, appeared as LEGEND's true facet, back to the blackened road they go with a sheer kind of misty heaviness that will remind listeners with past glories of NWOBHM. I wouldn't consider these as certifiable hitters, yet experiencing the twilight of British Metal would be achieved.

"The Dark Place" is without a doubt a true NWOBHM release from a band that has been trying to relive the days when this special movement of music maintained a solid rule. With each band having its own signature of this type of music, LEGEND remained loyal to its old days. Generally, I liked this release, yet I had a hard time with Lezala's uncommanding figure as a vocalist, with his voice I felt like listening to old URIAH HEEP's harmonies, however, I also sensed that his line was powerless and lacked dominance, and it itched a bit. As for the rest of the list, quite a solid pack of old school tunes, recommended for listening and collecting.