RIOTLEGION - God(b)less

You know, I've been waiting for the next release by RIOTLEGION, the Seatlle based electro-industrial project whose last album, Legion of Chaos was released back in 2014. At that time, I thought that the album was good with a lot of potential, but also felt as if Riotlegion was still finding their niche. However, fast forward time, bring us to now, and they're signed to Blind Mice Productions coming at us with a brand new EP titled Legion of Chaos.

This move wasn't unprecedented, however, as his side project VIAL's EP was also released via Blind Mice, and he even shared the stage with label heads SHIV-R in 2014, as well. Either way, four tracks of solid and hard electronics with Riotlegion's tough chords are slamming your way.

The first, first thing that I noticed about the sounds coming off the album would be that the production quality was much, much improved on from their previous release. That can speak volumes at a time; a clearer sounds mean more appreciating the noise that was meant to be and the sludge that was not. Thankfully, there is no sludge on this release.

God(b)less starts us off as the title track, delivering a politically charged dance-floor oriented track. Samples of President Obama speaking ignite the fuel to the fire, and the rest of the track follows suit. What I also like about his music is that although it is biting, his chords aren't slaughtered in a screaming, brutalist way. A lot of bands take that stance when it comes to singing about political movements, but Riotlegion actually allows us to hear and understand his voice. Kudos for that, and not sounding like an uneducated son of a bitch.

While the title track showed off a more smooth sound, My Right Trumps Your Dead brought us back into the previous sounds that Riotlegion has cranked out. I remember describing his sounds as being "punchy", and that term definitely sticks out well. This is a song where the music speaks for itself. No lyrics necessary.

I wasn't too huge a fan of Feel It; the vocals were really awkward over the beat when they weren't being what I consider whispered. Perhaps it was the effects that take control of them, but something was amok that I didn't like. Musically, I think the song was sound, but I didn't get too attached to it due to the vocal presentation.

Lastly, Movement comes in and brings the EP back up to standards. Very club oriented with pretty damn fine synth work with the sounds of lasers being a major player in the song. I'd say that this track was the most fun song on the album, perhaps not the most charged one, but definitely one that sort of got away from the whole political message. It was nice.

Four tracks later, and I still see why Riotlegion is around and active; the guy has talent. Sure, I didn't much get into one song, but the diversity between all four tracks was enough to have me wanting to stomp around and dance a little. But I didn't. Because I suck at dancing. Either way, this was an improvement in both sound and quality from their last offering, and I can only really end this review by saying what I stated last time: Keep an eye on Riotlegion. At this rate, their next release will be even better than this one. Apr 22 2015