Review Summary: The southern savages' warming love letter....
Since their return from hiatus after
It Hates You, He Is Legend have been putting in overtime for the time their fans lost them. The tours seemed to never end, with the boys always supporting one act or another for what seemed like an eternity. Then
Heavy Fruit dropped and finally gave the world a taste of what these witches were concocting.
Heavy Fruit was a taste of the He Is Legend’s dark melodic side, a wicked tinge in a group known for their ability to bring the house down with infectious pieces of southern rock gold.
few in fact was born of a band filled with doubt after the initial elation of their return. Sure, fans were happy that He Is Legend were back, but now that the
Heavy Fruit hype settled, did people
really care that they came back? Their rose-colored glasses now buffed, have people now largely moved on? With this weighing on their minds, He Is Legend took to crowdfunding. Putting themselves out there quite publicly, if their goal wasn’t met it would affirm their fears and potentially put a permanent end to a short resurgence. Thankfully there was never any doubt, and the goal was met and surpassed easily. The fans wanted more He Is Legend.
With a renewed sense of purpose and drive, He Is Legend’s vision of their music was captured purely and utterly with
few. Equal parts groovy and heavy, the music stylistically shares the most similarities with
Suck Out the Poison with its unabashed southern fashions. Where
few stands alone among all He Is Legend’s works is the in the absolute crushing weight of the songs. Schuylar Croom’s weathered voice soars as powerfully as it sinks, and remains the only voice that can work alongside
few’s slimy riffs. Guitarists Adam Tanbouz and Denis Desloge remain true to form, utilizing some absolutely stellar production to deliver riffs that would put hair on your little girl’s chest. From the hard-charging lead single “Sand” to the ominously heavy “Jordan” the crunch and clarity of the music adds a palpable edge to
few, transforming their music from merely “southern” to downright “swampy”.
Never all about the riffs, “Alley Cat” and the charmingly bluesy “Fritz the Dog” prove their new crushing production hasn’t given an inch to the southern groove ingrained in these boys.
few actually in many ways, seems to be the pinnacle of He Is Legend’s brand of southern metal. The occult themes Croom has grown to love coalesce beautifully with the beefy yet moody instrumentals in a way that encapsulates the entirety of the band’s post
I Am Hollywood career. Innovation is in short supply with
few but innovating and experimenting aren’t really the point and weren’t the aim of the band here. As necessary as experimenting with their sound will be going forward,
few is a love letter to fans, a gift for them for sticking with these southern boys through thick and thin. Now the last time He Is Legend made a record they thought the fans wanted they grew to hate that record but with
few it’s different. These aren’t young kids trying to cater to any audience, these are grown men saying thank you to their fans when honestly, we are the ones who should be thanking them.
