Lex Legion

Lex Legion is a brand-new band comprised of old friends with incredible heavy metal pedigree. Comprising four-fifths of the classic late 1980s King Diamond lineup featuring Mikkey Dee, Pete Blakk, Andy La Rocque and Hal Patino infused with the jaw-dropping vocals of Nils K. Rue (Pagan’s Mind), it also boasts Motorhead, Scorpions, and Death on its collective resume. Lex Legion’s eponymous debut album is a single-minded, future-facing throwback of world-class hard rock/metal distinguished by tasteful, less-is-more arrangements, virtuoso musicianship, and relentless melody and harmony.

“Lex Legion is totally written the way we thought in the ‘80s,” said drummer Dee (Motorhead, King Diamond), relaxing in Tenerife before a busy year with his regular gig, Scorpions “We wrote what we wanted, and if you liked it, that was a great bonus. If you didn’t like it, that was fine with us, too!”

Lex Legion was formed by former King Diamond guitarist Blakk and drummer Dee, and completed by bassist Patino, alongside guitarist/producer La Rocque, a King Diamond constant since 1985 who also played on Death’s seminal Individual Thought Patterns. And finally, Nils. K. Rue.

This is music for hard rock/metal fans, but with a freshness and sense of excitement that only a debut album can capture. Lex Legion’s members find themselves more musically accomplished than ever but now free of the egos of youth; and have much more routine and friendship that comes with career spanning more than forty years, comfortable with each other and in their own skins.

Despite their impressive resumes (Dee is a Grammy winner and La Rocque a nominee) and busy individual schedules, Lex Legion is a serious passion project that’s been gestating for a quarter-century until the time was right.

The storming Lex Legion states its case within the first few seconds of album opener and first single “Sleep Eternally.” “It has elements of everything on the album,” said La Rocque. “The right tempo and the right kind of vocals, starting out like a fist in your face!” Rue’s soaring pipes and ominous harmonies are framed by Dee’s unmistakable powerhouse drumming, imaginative leads from both guitarists, Patino´s melodic basslines, and shifts of pace and tempo that will satiate fans of more progressive subgenres. Second track and follow-up single “Gypsy Tears” seals the deal, at once eerie and rapturous, otherworldly, and propulsive; evocative and straight-up headbangin’.

“This is totally unique. No one is writing this kind of music and there’s a big hole for us to fill,” Blakk concluded. “Welcome to our new journey of friendship and hard rock!”