LEGACY OF DISORDER

I'd call it Pure American Metal if all but one member of LEGACY OF DISORDER weren't based in New Zealand. However, the one guy that isn't a New Zealander, drummer Matt Thompson, is a Texan who got connected to LEGACY OF DISORDER through the band's Dallas-based producer Sterling Winfield (PANTERA, HELLYEAH, DAMAGEPLAN). As such, the American Metal (or PANTERA-by-way-of-early-MACHINE-HEAD-edged) sound begins to make some sense. And for almost half the album that sound translates to some hardy 'n' hooky, no-nonsense metal.

Specifically, the first four songs hit the spot with a convincing power-drive and thrash-based focus. In fact, it is TESTAMENT more than PANTERA that informs opener "Thorns", an up-tempo thrasher with a strong melody and a mid-range bark from lead vocalist James Robinson that drops to a near-growl (ala Chuck Billy, sort of). Momentum and punch is maintained on "Punish All" and "March to Death", and gets kicked up a notch on the standout title track. It is on "Break" that momentum begins to wane, the song's searing solo section notwithstanding. Not bad at all; just unspectacular.

That's pretty much the way it stays through "Hell Tonight" (the speak-sing, almost-rapped vocal patterns don't work very well),"Impaler", "Warrior Gene", and "Came to Fight". A little better than average — with a stout Winfield production that emphasizes instrument separation — is how those last five tracks come across. An album's worth of material matching the first four tunes would have made for a bloody good stomper. Instead "Last Man Standing" on the whole ends up one that convinces in a metallic sense, but falls short in terms of songwriting consistency. It's quite likeable, but a long way from essential.