His Legacy: Foundations in Truth
Posted November 20, 2011
By MaryNikkel_NRT, Staff Reviewer
The Portland-based hard rock band His Legacy is working their way onto the scene with their blend of driven guitar, earnest lyrics, and seemingly effortless vocals. Their upcoming project, the Not Ours EP (which really earns its acronym of “extended play,” weighing in at 8 tracks), serves as a solid introduction to their sound.
The opening track sets the stage with icy guitar tones drifting over waves of whispers, which eventually becomes spoken word and then melody. “Are we not but hollow shells of what we were made to be?” the song asks. “Slaves to selfish ambition, we wanted in discontentment.” The song paints a picture of a world full of hollow people searching for truth.
His Legacy is completely open about where truth comes from, their unashamed proclamations of the glory of God ringing through every track on this EP. As the cry for a deeper knowledge of grace in “Unworthy” states, “I won't be deceived with your empty words. These words are not counterfeit, so let us be confident and unashamed!” Songs like “Follow” could be considered straight-up hardcore worship.
Musically, the album is a combination of beautifully clean but fragile, urgent vocals, paired with the perfect blend of grit and a drifting ambiance in the guitar work. The steady drum rhythms form a foundation without overwhelming the soaring melodies. Mellow moments come at the perfect place in the tracks, such as in the chilling and vulnerable “Surrender,” which pairs more acoustic elements with the searching words.
Throughout the EP, the lyrics have an unusual poetic quality extremely reminiscent of Scripture (and indeed at times pulling directly from the Bible, such as in “Warrior,” a song that draws on Romans 6). “Mountains” proclaims the power and majesty of God, again drawing on the tone of Scripture to create a song that plays like a poem: “You wrap up the waters in your clouds, in Your clouds You created, yet they do not burst under its own weight... by Your breathe, the skies became fair!”
Closing Thoughts:
It can be a temptation for hard rock bands releasing their first albums to try too hard, trying to follow a formula to the point that the life of the songs gets lost. His Legacy manages to completely avoid this, creating an album that is heavy without trying too hard. Their sound is reminiscent of bands like Underoath, with lyrics undeniably grounded in truth. The result is an incredibly solid early release that promises great things to come.
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