Photo by Krista B.
Banded together out of mutual respect, admiration, history, and a strong desire to move ever forward, LEGIONS OF DOOM brings together split-duty lead singers Scott Reagers (Saint Vitus) and Karl Agell (Lie Heavy, Karl Agell's Blind, Leadfoot), bassist Ron Holzner (The Skull, Trouble, Earthen Grave), guitarists Lothar Keller (The Skull, Sacred Dawn), and Scott Little (Leadfoot), and drummer Henry Vasquez (The Skull, Saint Vitus, Blood Of The Sun), and was born as a project following the death of The Skull vocalist Eric Wagner (also ex-Trouble) in 2021. Initial The Skull/LEGIONS OF DOOM shows in tribute to Wagner were held in 2023, and in 2024, LEGIONS OF DOOM will record both the album that The Skull would have made and a new collection of original material that's been worked on since.
Plans to record at Steve Albini's Electric Audio with engineer Sanford Parker (YOB, Wovenhand, Eyehategod) will lead to a first release this Fall on Tee Pee Records, and in the interim, LEGIONS OF DOOM will again take to the stage. Fall/Winter European and US touring is being discussed, with a just announced appearance in September of this year at Ripplefest in Austin, Texas. While LEGIONS OF DOOM will step forward as the priority, Holzner assures The Skull isn't fading completely.
"The Skull, featuring me, Lothar, Henry, Scott Little, and Karl singing, will continue in a limited capacity doing occasional shows," informs Holzner. "The Skull shows will consist of 90-95 percent The Skull music. LEGIONS OF DOOM shows consist of all our combined history: Blind-era Corrosion Of Conformity, Trouble, Leadfoot, The Skull, Saint Vitus, and LEGIONS OF DOOM material, too."
Adds Karl Agell, "When Ron asked me to join him in carrying on the doom metal tradition that he was part of and established first with Trouble and then The Skull, there was only one path forward. I truly look forward to performing songs from the massive legacy of all the members of LEGIONS OF DOOM."
Having already appeared at Hellfest in France, Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium, and Legions Of Metal in Chicago, expect LEGIONS OF DOOM to continue to roll out confirmations as they move toward the album release, because with these guys, it's never just about what's been done in the past, but adding to that legacy as well. Just as The Skull built on the foundations Trouble laid at the core of the doom metal genre, look for LEGIONS OF DOOM to push to new ground along that familiar path. [words by JJ Koczan]
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