It's now time for our 144th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and this month, let's take a look at kinda-sorta reunited local classic metal quartet
Late & Loud's new album
"Late & Legends 1"! I opted to review this over the new
Molten Imp EP due to "Late & Legends 1" being released earlier, but Molten Imp are very likely coming next month! Released to their Bandcamp page on April 7th, this album is Late & Loud's second release (third if you separately count the "Still Hard" reissue of "Heavy Rockin' Hard Metal"), though it is a
very different album from what fans of their early 2010s local concerts will be accustomed to. Basically, this is a score, featuring instrumental compositions used in the band's
Late & Legends podcast, where they play Dungeons & Dragons using their own characters as they explore the world of Renlan. If you want to check out full episodes in audio & video format, visit
their website and/or
YouTube channel.
All four Late & Loud members (guitarists Jonathan Tiberi & Brendan Christie, bassist Benn Garside, and drummer Josh Hatherley) participate in Late & Legends, though only "Jonathan Tiberious" & Brendan are credited musicians on "Late & Legends 1", alternating six songs each. The album is available exclusively on Bandcamp for $5 (or more), but it can be streamed for free there too. Also, for full disclosure, I'm not knowledged about physical role-playing board games, nor am I intimately familiar with the podcast, so this review will primarily be on the musical merits of the score and how it compares to Late & Loud's prior work as a full band. Featuring 12 songs running for about 35 minutes, let's begin this review with it's opening track!
In this album order, odd numbered songs are performed by Jonathan, while even numbered songs are handled by Brendan. The opening track is Jon's composition
"Theatre Of The Mind", which is an ominous and vaguely spacey track that feels like a proper introduction, perhaps reflecting the theatrical narrative of the RPG proper. It does drag after a while, aside from the abrupt jump at 3:58, but it is a well composed piece with solid guitar work. Just don't go into this expecting "Love Letter Lockdown" (or Josh on drums, the percussion is clearly programmed). Brendan's first song is next, entitled
"Far To Roam", and despite running for just 2:25, it is his longest song on the album. Again, don't come into this assuming that this is a Kraken Mara B-side. Rather, this is very reminiscent of medieval folk music, if more ominous, and you get the sense that our brave warriors are embarking on a great journey!
I don't mind some medieval influences, and Brendan contributes well with this track, but the beat could be varied a little as it goes. Jonathan's second track is next, entitled "Dark Forest", and this is the longest song on offer from either guitarist. You get the sense with this one that Giovanni, Mordechai, and Valerius have indeed roamed into the title location, and on this track, Jon does let loose with more of his metal influences (a very 1970s take on them, at that!) The methodical, classic approach works well, especially the marching riffs, and there is some guitar solo action within, so this will appeal to original Late & Loud fans the most so far! However, for a "dark forest", it could stand to sound eerier, but that's minor. Brendan follows with the 66 seconds-long "Make Haste", and despite the urgency of the title, it's a dramatically building piece with nicely fitting piano input!
Almost orchestral in tone, the song definitely fits the tone of events in the Late & Legends story, and while it's short, it's effective for what it is! Jonathan's third entry is
"Will This Fight Never End?", which unwisely opens with the programmed drums, but beyond that, the song does give the impression of our heroes persevering through adversity (if in a less heavy fashion). The guitar sounds a little too processed in the riffs, but the 1970s influence comes through again here, including via backing keyboard instrumentation. Not a bad number as it goes, but the processed effects and too-obvious drum machine don't help compared to preceding tracks. The halfway point is reached with Brendan's third track
"Clockwork Dilemma", which is an album-low 56 seconds long. At this point, it seems obvious that Brendan's contributions are mostly atmospheric compositions for the score, leaving Jon to handle the rock side.
For what this is, it sets the tone with an eerie, almost transcendental ambiance, yet still ominous with it's dramatic march that helps end the piece. As part of the overall story, this track does what it's supposed to! The second half of "Late & Legends 1" begins with Jonathan's "Fighting Even More", which has a persistent forward motion that suits the title well! I can picture this as video game theme music, if that's fair. The song always seems to be moving on the low ground though, which is great if you like some extra bass, but it only really gets into the air when Jon lays down a solo in the last minute, helping add some dramatics as the story progresses! Not bad, but it's more of a piece of the overall puzzle. Brendan's back half begins with "Lich It Up", and the spelling is correct, "lich" is an old English term for a corpse. Don't expect a Kiss cover here, this is strictly a piano piece.
Honestly, this kind of feels of out of place, partly because it almost has a jazzy quality. It does have dark overtones, but it doesn't really flow naturally from Jonathan's tracks before and after. Speaking of which, Jon's next up with
"Green Slays", which is his shortest song on offer, running for 2:19. If you get into the Christmas spirit while listening to this, it's not just you, as this is effectively a retitled version of the carol "What Child Is This?", so you definitely get the sense that it's at least wintertime in Renlan at this point. Programmed drums aside, this gets the point across, complete with a galloping Iron Maiden-esque progression late and as someone who hates the summer, I appreciate the holiday vibes! Those continue with Brendan's next offering,
"Dirge Of The Bells" (i.e. "Carol Of The Bells"), a straightforward and very eerie rendition that slowly gets darker and darker as the bells get louder. I like the approach Brendan took here!
Here, he effectively turning this Christmas carol into a gothic piece, and it gets in and out without overstaying it's welcome! The holiday portion of the album ends for it's final two tracks, with Jon wrapping up with "Escape", which returns to the 1970s-inspired hard rock sound (the organ certainly doesn't hurt!) While not a technical showcase, Jon delivers some solid music to help close the album, with a nice melody and dramatic flourish on the riffs! The abrupt ending wasn't for me though, and if you want guitar solos, check elsewhere. Brendan closes the album (fittingly) with "Goodbye", a 91 second piano piece that helps serve as a coda to this part of the Late & Legends story. This is soft, intricate, and serves it's purpose, but I do prefer the grander and darker pieces of his from earlier in the album.
So, what are my final thoughts on "Late & Legends 1"? While very different from Late & Loud's music in their local heyday, this is a well made score that showcases Jonathan's composition skills and Brendan's diversity beyond the guitar! I concede that you will probably get more out of this if you've heard every episode of Late & Legends to date and knew the exact context each song fit into, but that's the peril with any score, really. Jonathan's six songs feels like something he may have recorded for his dormant solo projects, and while Brendan's contributions are relatively small (his songs only make up about a quarter of the runtime), he does showcase skill as a pianist and composer to stitch together parts of the story, and he has a knack for dark, ominous pieces in this way! It would have been nice to see all four guys contribute to a song's instrumentation though.
I don't know if Benn supplied any bass tracks, but the programmed drums were unfortunate, especially given Josh's skill as a drummer (note that he serves as game master & audio editor of the podcast, and isn't one of the lead characters.) Of course, remember that Jonathan & Josh have since moved from the Soo, which could be factors in them not all working together in a musical sense. The music here is all good though, especially songs that made use of Jon's guitar skill and Brendan's dark compositions, and they do encourage me to check out more of the podcast! If you're not familiar with Late & Legends, it's probably recommended that you become familiar with at least a few episodes before listening to "Late & Legends I", but it serves it's purpose and has strong and evocative music to go around! Just don't dwell on the drum machine, and don't go into this expecting old school Late & Loud.
I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, but stay tuned for the implied "Late & Legends 2" when the ongoing events in Renlan progress where they're intended, and buy/stream the whole score above! As already teased, next month's CD review will likely be Molten Imp's debut single "Double Dose (Me)", which came out last month, so look for that in July, and for a new news post by Thursday! Thanks everyone!
