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Dawn of Genesis is the full-length debut from Finnish epic Heavy Metal band Legionnaire. When a press release starts throwing around names like Brocas Helm, Liege Lord and the NWOBHM, I definitely want to hear the music in question, but does Legionnaire live up to the hype? The short answer is no. On the plus side, the music on Dawn of Genesis is straight Heavy Metal; no keyboards, no ballads, no wimpy shit whatsoever. The twin guitar work is good, the bass gallops and the cymbals crash in a "throw your fist in the air" way. The problems with Dawn of Genesis start with the guitar sound which is tame. There's no grit, no crunch, nothing that grabs you. The riffs are just there and no matter how much you turn up the volume, there they sit. I wanted at least one song to slay me with metallic might but none did, though the lead work on "Black Harbinger" gave a valiant effort. The problems end with the vocals which are a lesson in patience. The singer's voice is fine but he doesn't seem to know how to deliver a line, he slides around the notes, sometimes landing on the right one, sometimes not. He's not out of key, it just sounds like he's singing a line from a different song and it's annoying.

Legionnaire sounds like they are going for the early Iron Maiden, Manilla Road, Omen, etc. style and I hear promise on Dawn of Genesis. The guys' hearts are in the right place, now they just need to bring a killer sound and some improved vocals to the party and then they'll have something.