On June 28th, He Is Legend released a concept album entitled “White Bat”. This effort definitely takes on a concoction of all the bands’ previous efforts to create yet another masterpiece.
With this band, there is true dedication ranging from their arrangements to their lyrics to even the concepts that they delve in to. This is what makes He Is Legend artists in every sense of the word. In their previous offering entitled “few”, He Is Legend delved into the world of new age practices and mysticism where they strive for spirituality and moral perfection through self-control, strength of will, and meditation. In turn, He Is Legend created an album that was more mystical and left their fans in a curious wonder. With “White Bat”, He Is Legend tears up their blueprint to pieces and rewrite a completely different script in this offering by delving into the concept of “I’ll Be Gone In The Dark” by Michelle McNamara.
Something that He Is Legend and I have in common is that we both love true crime stories. There is something fascinating about getting into the mind of the perpetrator/killer and try to get inside their head and try to reason out what they were thinking. He Is Legend came up with this idea through Michelle McNamara’s book “I’ll Be Gone In The Dark”. In the book, McNamara takes on the obsession of finding the Golden State Killer. She interviews scores of victims and witnesses, embedded herself in online communities that were also obsessed with this case and poured over police reports. Sadly, she would tragically die while investigating the case. Schuyler Croom got into character in this album. He packed his bags for Los Angeles and went under the tutelage of Mitch Marlow to improve his voice(which certainly shows on this record). Meanwhile, he went to the shadiest parts of Los Angeles, including alleyways and seedy bars and got into character like a Hollywood actor/actress would do as they’re preparing for a role. In this, he penned some of the most brilliant work that He Is Legend has created to this date.
Croom got into the mind of the Golden State Killer in the opening title track. “White Bat”, which seems to be about the Golden State Killer who went on a killing spree targeting suburbia couples. There is something magical about Schuyler Croom’s voice as it gained a certain amount of power and he seems to sing with a sense of liberation and emotion. The track sounds psychotic yet cathartic at the same time.
“Burn All Your Rock Records” is where He Is Legend gives you their calling card. It has elements of thrash, psychedelia and straight up raw rock as they have created an anthem of sorts with this song. To me, if I would describe He Is Legend with one song(which would be an impossible task to do), I would tell them to check out “Burn All Your Rock Records”.
The musicianship is chaotic yet controlled and their lyrics are deranged, yet cathartic. He Is Legend purposefully gives you a mindtrip that causes aneurysms, not in a trolling sense, but in the sense that they are incredibly gifted in manipulating sounds and manipulating listeners to think throughout this album. Once again, they make a record that toes the line between deranged and cathartic, and boisterous and serene. Don’t ask me how He Is Legend comes up with this sorcery, only they know the potion to creating yet another masterpiece in their discography. This record deserves a 9/10 star rating. Here is the track listing:
- White Bat
- Burn All Your Rock Records
- When The Woods Were Young
- Eye Teeth
- Talking Stalker
- Bent
- Resister, Resist Her
- Uncanny Valley
- The Interloper
- Skin So Soft
- Boogiewoman
Fans can find He Is Legend at the following locations:
www.instagram.com/HeIsLegendNC
