It is an interesting time in heavy music. Death metal is once again taking over the underground like it did during the 90’s. Gutteral vocals, distorted riffs, blast beats, and nasty groove. Lyrics about murder, gore, horror, and, well, death!!!
Tattooed Instagram models wearing band merch. Schools banning certain band shirts that may seem “offensive”. And most importantly, venues being packed wall to wall by fans who crave this aggressive form of music. It’s a shit time to be alive, but at least the music is good! Hell, there’s a case to be made that all of this is the soundtrack to the current times.
The last time we saw a movement like this in death metal, Florida was at the forefront of the scene. The state birthed the majority of brutal acts such as Death, Obituary, Morbid Angel, and many more! Some bands at that time moved out of their original location to the sun shine state just to be a part of the action. One of those bands was the legendary Cannibal Corpse from Buffalo, New York.
The current catalog of new death metal bands is pretty spead out nationally, but there is one state that is making some similar noise to what Florida made in the early 90’s. That state is Ohio. The state shaped like a heart with the most serial killers, haunted houses, and heavy metal bands per square mile. Every city seems to have a new heavy hitter making waves on stage and on the internet. Sanguisugabogg (Columbus), 200 Stab Wounds (Cleveland), Mutilatred (Toledo), and The Behest of Serpents (Canton) just to name a few.
But now what about the rubber city, Akron? Who is more known for The Black Keys, LeBron James, alcoholics anonymous, methamphetamine, and Jeffrey Dahmer. Who will give them a good name in this new wave of death metal?! Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to new melodic death machine, 72 Legions.
Curran Murphy (lead guitar)
Curran has toured the world and has been on more stages than the average musician will ever see. From small basement like venues to the Wacken Open Air stage. He has played for a variety of thrash and power metal bands throughout his career, but now he will be using his skill and expertise to create his heaviest material yet!
Outside of 72 Legions, he plays guitar for Shattered Messiah and Dead Earth. Both bands will be releasing new material soon. He also runs his own recording studio and guitar amplifier company called Custom Audio Mutation.
Dan Gates (bassist)
Dan is more known around Northeast Ohio for his time in TON, which was a death metal band from Canton that lasted for 27 years. In all of his bands and studio projects Dan was the guitar player, but for 72 Legions he brings the thunder!
When he is not playing with Legions, he is posting new videos on his YouTube channel where he shows off sick riffs on his new Solar guitars. Just like Curran, Dan is also a member of Cleveland’s own Dead Earth.
Robert Quade (rythm guitar)
When Robert isn’t shredding his fingers off, he is making delicious creations from his crock pot. The only time Robert has taken the stage is for his side project Animortem, which he has had since he was in high school. I had the pleasure to have a few guitar lessons from him last year. He is extremely knowledgeable about guitar playing and knows what it takes to play professionally. Should you ever attend a Legions show and he seems a bit sloppy, it’s probably just nerves. Just throw your beer at him and he’ll get it together.
Colton Zeitler (drums)
72 Legions is the 19-year-old prodigy’s first band. Once you hear him, you’ll be convinced he is better than some drummer who claims to have played for 19 years. Colton is the spawn to local rocker Jozey Zeitler, who is in multiple rock projects including Jozey & The Corruption. While the kid seems impressive now, it will be scary once he settles in and polishes his craft. Imagine what he’ll sound like in 10 years. Move over, Paul Mazurkiewicz!
Devon Wirick (vocals)
Devon is the behemoth of the band. His vocal range is off the charts! His highs are solid, but his lows sound very similar to the legendary George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher. No joke! It’s disgusting how similar they sound! Just like his drummer, this is Devon’s first serious band. It’s crazy how many bands are looking for heavy vocalist and this guy went under their radar. A diamond in the ruff that could help the band stand out amongst the rest in this region.
72 Legions will be playing their first show on Sunday, July 10th, 2022 at the Empire Concert Club in Akron, Ohio. The lineup consists of Black Sasquatch (rock from Southern Ohio), Gravehuffer (crust punk from Missouri), and Blasphemous Blessings (black metal from Canton).
The band will also be opening up for Narcotic Wasteland on August 26th, which features former Nile singer and guitar player, Dallas Toler-Wade.
Seth Lipocky is the founder of the internet radio show Sunday Bloody Sunday and owner of live music production company SBS Live.
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