Mayhem

U.S. Legions was recorded in various venues around the world during Mayhem's Grand Declaration of War tour 2000. The sound of these recordings is very raw and the guitar tracks are thin. Hellhammer's drums are really up front in the mix this time around and overpower the other instruments, especially when he hits the toms. Aside from that, the playing is tight and calculating, a whirlwind of psychotic energy and punishing rhythms emanate from each track. Each era of the band's history is represented with songs ranging from "Chainsaw Gutsfuck" and "Total Fucking Armageddon" to the newer material. Legions cements the band's deserved title as the world's current premier black metal outfit at a time when most others refuse to tour or even play shows for that matter. Also included on this live collection are studio tracks that are pre-production versions from The Grand Declaration of War, songs that find the band flirting with more mechanised sounds instead of pummelling us with the usual Mayhem quotient of savage brutality.