One of the bands that made it to this year’s Food Truck and Rock Carnival at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood, NJ from September 30 to October 2 is a metal band called Legion. I’ve never heard of these guys before, so I was a bit curious as to how they made it on the bill. I searched for them online and they were a little difficult to find, but I found them on ReverbNation, where I got to listen to songs off of the band’s latest CD, War Beast, featuring the songs “Pale Horse,” “Stand and Fight” and “Illusion.” If you love your metal with a heavy ’80s flare, you will love Legion! Singer Ralph Gibbons sings at such a high register that he’ll make metal gods like Ronnie James Dio (R.I.P.), Rob Halford and even King Diamond proud. That was some pretty impressive singing.
According to their bio, Legion was formed in Central Jersey by brothers and guitarists, Frank and Joe Adamo. The brothers Adamo turned Legion into a hard driving, powerful and melodic heavy metal band, drawing heavy influences from ’70s and early ’80s metal. The band’s sound and songwriting style has been critically acclaimed and has even garnered the band a respectable global fan base. In 2004, Legion released a four-song sampler leading to their 2005 self-released CD, Shadow of the King, which garnered the band even more attention as far as overseas. In 2006, Majestic Rock Records would re-release and re-master Shadow of the King, and distribute it in both Europe and Japan. During the writing process and rehearsals for their follow-up CD, personal problems and lineup changes arose. In 2010, singer Ralph Gibbons arrived and work on the new CD immediately commenced. In 2014, Arthur Maglio would join the band on bass, and then in 2015, John Soden was enlisted to become the new drummer of Legion, completing the new lineup as the band closed the year with a series live shows in the New Jersey area.
With a full-lineup tightened up and ready to go, Legion tapped my brother and BLS and Cycle Of Pain bassist, John “JD” DeServio, to mix the finished product recordings. Earlier this year, it was announced that Pure Steel Records had signed the band for their worldwide release of the long-awaited new CD, War Beast, which is slated to drop on September 30. If you love that old-school metal sound—and I know many of you here in Jersey do—you will love Legion! Catch them at this year’s Rock Carnival on Sunday, October 2. For more info on Legion, visit LegionOfficial.com.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
I know that I just mentioned my brother, Santino Noir, former lead singer of Scarlet Carson, a few weeks ago, with his new music and upcoming movie project, but now he’s making even more music news out in L.A. with former She Said Fire singer Joshua Hawksley in their project, Crash The Night. This new project for Santino and Hawksley recently released a new music video for their song “Crash,” which I can’t seem to put a label on, but it has a hip-hop, pop rock, and alt rock feel to it. I remember Santino telling me about this project, but it’s not at all what I envisioned when he explained it to me. The hook of the song is definitely catchy, but the video reminded me of something I used to see coming from “boy bands.” Good song, though! Check the video for “Crash” out for yourself at CrashTheNight.band.
Speaking of my favorite Jersey singers, my brother, Chino Marin, lead singer of the band Ronin, will be releasing his solo debut EP, Letters From The Living, this Tuesday (9/27). He recently dropped his first single off of the EP, “Home,” via his website IAmChinoMarin.com, and the song is awesome and epitomizes everything I love about his voice. It’s powerful and soulful. I can’t wait to hear the rest of the EP. For more info about Chino’s debut solo EP, visit Facebook.com/OfficialChinoMarin.
And finally, congrats to my bros from Common Wealth, who landed a main stage slot at this year’s Food Truck and Rock Carnival on Sunday, October 2. This was well-deserved. I’ve been chatting with singer Christian Carson and he’s been dying to get on this show, so why not get the main stage? Also, if you haven’t checked out the band’s video for “Mend the Pieces” yet, what the hell are you waiting for? Check it out at youtu.be/QiHBfa1JE5s. For more info on Commonwealth and their gig at this year’s Rock Carnival, visit Facebook.com/CommonwealthNJ.
That’s all for now! If your band is from North Jersey, and you want some exposure, send your press kits to Arts Weekly, c/o Tim Louie P.O. Box 1140, Little Falls, NJ 07424, or you can email me at tim@theaquarian.com, where you can also let me know where you’re performing next!
Just remember….We’re all in the same boat, so every little bit of exposure counts!
Tim Louie is the Author of S**t Happens.
NJN Concert Calendar:
9/21—The Bathwater/The Breakout/Ryan Zimmerman And Catcha Fish/The Fine Line—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
9/22—El Astronauto/Joe Billy/Toranavox/Anatomy of an Outcast/The Definition of Anxiety—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
9/23—The Queers/Svetlanas/OC45/Triple Deuce/ The Fantastic Plastics/Kyle Trocolla—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
9/23—Without Reason—Rocky’s Bar and Grill, Rahway, NJ
9/24—Bound By Substance/Tempest City—The Bowery Ballroom, NYC
9/24—MURDER 1/Corevalay/BigButt —Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
9/27—Crowbar/Mantismass/SkunkDaze/Voidless/White Void—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
9/30—Rock Carnival Day 1—FirstEnergy Park, Lakewood, NJ
9/30—Jane Lee Hooker/The Mimi Nowak Project/The Hey Honeys/The Liza Colby Sound—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
10/1—Rock Carnival Day 2—FirstEnergy Park, Lakewood, NJ
10/1—E-Town Concrete/Candiria/All Out War/Negative Sky—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
10/2—Rock Carnival Day 3—FirstEnergy Park, Lakewood, NJ
10/13—Malevolent Creation/Incantation/Dying Eyes Of Sloth—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
10/14—SavFest 2016 (feat. Rahway, BoneDevil, MamaKidd, King’s Chamber)—Whiskey Tango, Philadelphia, PA
10/15—The Fiendz/I.D.K./Satterthwaite/The Accelerators—The Clash Bar, Clifton, NJ
10/15—SavFest 2016 (feat. Mark Evans of Heaven’s Edge, Morningside Lane, Swampbox, Wretch, Power Theory)—Whiskey Tango, Philadelphia, PA
10/19—Jersey Campfires Production Presents Strive/Sunday Brave/Our Fears—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
10/21—Steve Bello Band—Half-Time Sports Bar, Newark, DE
10/22—The Black Clouds/Will Wood and the Tapeworms/Experiment 34/The Production/Vivi Noir/Gisella Rose/Amanda Zeiher—Roxy and Duke’s Roadhouse, Dunellen, NJ
10/22—Matt O’Ree/Whale Blue Eye/Cosmic American Derelicts—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
10/27—Puddle of Mudd/New Day Dawn/Knucklebone/Strange Eclipse/ELI – The Band—The Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
11/2—Jersey Campfires Production Presents Robots and Monsters/No Kings Among Wolves—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
11/5—Borgo Pass/John Wilkes Booth/Half Ton Session/Share the Burden—Revolution Bar and Music Hall, Amityville, NY
