Join the Legion

Part 1 is Join the Legion (1991). Part 2 is The Call (intro) and Legions Arise (2020).

UNDERRATED AS HELL!!!

Fenriz (Darkthrone)

Rob: A rousing song, our first in the series of a call to arms for our fans to join us in on our career long mission, to rally around what we considered “true metal”, and defeat the forces of false metal! Part two of course is “Legions Arise”, which is on our recent full-length album “Forever Black”, released in 2020! This song has a cool drum break, and I love the slowdown to the epic solo!

Jim Barazza: Wow, it’s been 30 years now since we recorded this album. I will try to describe it from my perspective and for the guitarist, and hard-core enthusiasts of this album. How the riffs came about being what they are. Also, worth mentioning was that at the time we started to do demos. Flint was still in the band and participated in working through most of the songs. The intro to “Join the Legion” was the first riff idea I worked on. It started back in 1984. I have early cassette recordings with almost the same intro. A band I played with back in 1984 had used it to start off an original song. In later years, prior to actually becoming a song I had worked out a verse and chorus riff that seemed to go along. And this is how it was all inspired.

I had listened to Michael Schenker’s 1982 release of “Assault Attack” a lot in the years prior and especially liked the intro to the title song and wanted to do something of similar impact. Add in a little snappy Iron Maiden touch and a snippet of “Crazy train”. The intro I came up with in my bedroom, wasn’t changed a whole lot. But, working through it with Flint and Rob created some timing/accents to be changed. This threw off the riff into an offbeat syncopation. At verses, we took the end of the intro and made it the turnaround transition that was inserted in between each verse line.

By doing that off-beat transition, it flipped the snare hit from beat (2/4) to beat be on (1/3) virtually, if you stay on the perfect count. Anyways, most importantly is that song was worked on with Rob, Flint, and myself (music, riffs, beats). And as always Tim would sit and listen and gives a nod of approval when we got something good that fits, or make suggestions for a change to align with what he is thinking of lyrically. At the pre-solo, solo, and outro I knew everything I wanted to do, I had practiced it many times and was well prepared to record. When it came time to make a solo section Rob suggested we slow it down, and give it a more of a feel like the song “Cirith Ungol”. So, it is similar but not exactly like it. That pick scrape seemed to go on forever. I must say the solos have a sort of Randy Rhoads and George Lynch feel to them. I had played a lot of Dokken and Ozzy songs in previous years, with cover bands, and it may have worn off on me. Originality and feeling are what I was going for, it came from within my soul and it seemed natural and I just went for it, playing along with the rhythm melody.

Rob and I had spent a few nights with the tape machine recording all of the solos, plotting it out, and trying out double-tracking dual leads as Jerry had done in the past. We ended up liking how it turned out on the demo, and I made sure to replicate it in the studio the best I could. The solos were double-tracked. The producer Ron Goudie said to me after the first solos were done, “We’re all good, OK, we’re done with that song”. I said, “No I still have to double track it”. He said “I don’t know if you can pull it off.” I insisted. “Set me up another track and I’ll prove it”. I knew the solo well enough by then. So, we recorded the second solo fairly quickly, as dinner time was approaching in a couple of hours and we wanted to get out of the studio for the day. One, maybe two passes, and it was done. The coolest part is the outro solo. I had that already worked that out long before the studio on our demo work and at home. So, it was a “piece of cake”. And the ending whammy dive and pull up with the second lead screaming. A cool way to end the song!

from Tales of a “Paradise Lost” – the 30th anniversary

Join the Legion (Album version)

From release Paradise Lost (1991).

Join the Legion (from ‘Paradise Lost’ practice tape)

From released Servant of Chaos (2001).

These are nowhere near the sound quality of ‘Fire’ above or even ‘Paradise Lost’, and you have to sing along by yourselves on the choruses but it at least has the feeling undiluted by bad production. (Can you tell I am still pissed how our 4th album came out!?) We made a video of this song.

Robert Garven, liner notes

Join The Legion (Alt Mix)

From re-released Paradise Lost (2017). Alternate mix.

Join the Legion (rehearsal 29 Jun 2011)

Jim Barraza Plays Join the Legion. Just around 1 minute sampling.

Join the Legion (2016?)

Never before heard audio of I’m Alive and Join The Legion from the from reunion rehearsal with Robert Garven, Jim Barraza, Jarvis Leatherby, and Brent Woodward

https://cirithungol.org/media/episode-27-the-story-of-cirith-ungol-part-3/

Join the Legion (Live at UTH XVIII)

Official Up the Hammers XVIII gig.

Join the Legion (video)

A music video was made for this song.

“We made a video of this song.”

writes Rob in the liner notes for Servants of Chaos.

It’s a bit amateurish…

Greg Lindstrom, interview by Patrick Lefevre

There was also an amateurish music video made of ‘Join the Legion’ right before CIRITH UNGOL broke up in 1992. Jimmy Barraza had quit by then, so Rob had to grab a guy off the street to be the guitar player!

Greg Lindstrom, Headache interview, 2005

It was done by a friend who was in college.  I am sure everyone will see it someday but it was and is not a good representative of what we were really like.  It was lip synced to the music and like Greg said is not very good !

Robert Garven, interview by Patrick Lefevre

The video for Join the Legion was pretty interesting as it was done in an old amphitheater, and I remember having to stand on this narrow ledge something like 15-20ft high and play guitar..I remember it being pretty funny.

Michael Johnson, guitarist at that time

There is a video of “Join the Legion” done by one of our roadies who was taking a class in video production.  The problem with this video was that it was lip synced and Jimmy Barajas who was in the process of leaving the band was replace in the outdoor shots of the video, but a friend of our then bassist Vern.  It was never meant to be seen, and is kind of embarrassing considering how powerful our performances were live. I have sent it to Metal Blade in Europe to put on their web site so that people could see it.  It was not really representative of the band at its peak, but it is better than nothing.

Robert Garven, Saul Essame 1/2002 interview

Join The Legion (live)

Live at Live at Up the Hammers Festival, Greece, Sat 27 May 2017

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