Grim Legion raises classic death metal monsters in New Jersey

Things didn't quite work out for death metal band Grim Legion when it got started during the late '80s. It recorded a number of demos but didn't release any records and it's members moved on to other projects.

Then fate intervened in the form of Mike Keller, drummer for Sacrificial Blood, who posted the original demos on YouTube. He got in contact with original vocalist Carmine "Devlin Bane," who reached out to other founding members John Paridiso (guitarist for Evoken) and Markus Misery (bass). Nearly 25 years after the band's creation, Grim Legion finally recorded its debut album.

Keller has since moved on from his spot in the band but he's got to be pleased with the results. Unholy Resurrection marks an almost literal return to form: Only two of the tracks featured on the album were written since the original demos, justifying Legion's claims of being true "classic death metal."

The title track was one of those two new songs, written to celebrate Legion's return. The title might be Unholy, but the sound will prove divine for those who celebrate the death metal scene of the band's earlier days.

Markus Misery joined Music Times for a podcast staged in a dark room in a musty basement in the band's home state of New Jersey, for a discussion that ranged from the best giant monster movies (War of The Gargantuas), his role as a "vampire elitist" and possible titles for the band's second album (hint: We Had A Great Sushi Dinner is probably a no-go). And the music, of course. Only one thing was off-limits, and that's Misery's birth name.

Download this week's Music Times Meets and get to know Grim Legion.