Legend - From the Fjords 40th Anniversary Edition. 1979 USA-Connecticut

Legend were a Connecticut based group whose sole album is truly a "legend" among early heavy rock collectors. You'll find scant evidence of music like this on the open market, especially from this era. What is today known as epic heavy metal, Legend were pioneers of a style that didn't find its audience until 20 years later. If you're a fan of early Manilla Road (Invasion, Metal, Crystal Logic, and especially the archival Mark of the Beast), then by all means seek this one out. Long, involved, semi-complex tracks with fantasy imagery is what you'll find here...and very heavy for 1979. 

Ownership: CD: 2019 Cult Rock Classics (Greece). Purchased at the end of 2019. 

Now this is some package and made the long wait for an official reissue worth it (originals are very pricey). Legend band leader and guitarist Kevin Nugent had passed away many years ago, and it was the other two gentlemen who stepped up to get behind this release. While bassist Fred Melilio stayed quiet, drummer Ray Frigon wrote a book for us, including quite an expose on his Christian faith and the psychology on why he couldn't continue with the group. There's also a lengthy interview with the Greek born album artist, who became somewhat famous in music circles. In addition to the extensive packaging, there are 5 relevant demo quality bonus tracks that are worth hearing. 

6/27/09; 12/11/20 (new entry)

Thunderpussy - Documents of Captivity. 1973 USA-Illinois

So here we are again, in the great American Midwest, this time from the southern Illinois town of Carbondale. 1973 is a bit early in the game for the classic regional sound, but some of the earmarks of the scene are already in place.

With 3 part thematic tracks (or poems as the liner notes state), and titles all beginning with 'Document of...' (e.g. 'Enigma', 'Validation', 'Extrinsic Value', etc...) and each featuring a creative instrumental mid-section, one has to wonder how such a heady band ended up with the Thunderpussy moniker. I could see a band having this name as a blues rock cover band playing for drunks and dopeheads - but I would think a name change may have been appropriate by the time they laid down the recordings. In essence Thunderpussy are a guitar trio, with many acoustic sections including flute, and sometimes utilize harmony similar to maybe CSN. As the album wears on, it becomes heavier and more ambitious, to the point where it could be considered the great grandfather of epic progressive metal. I wonder if fellow Midwesterners Manilla Road (and Mark Shelton was a knowledgeable music fan) might have stumbled onto one of these LPs in the 1970s. Or perhaps other groups were performing in the area that were similar to Thunderpussy back in the day, but there's no aural documents remaining. This album is distinctly American, underground, creative and flat out freakin' cool.

CD: 1996 The Wild Places
LP: 1987 Breeder bootleg (Austria)

The CD is awesome with 4 live bonus tracks and historical liner notes.