Sydney-based metallians Night Legion have produced one of our fave metal albums of the year thus far in the shape of the monstrous Fight Or Fall, and as we’re in the business in shining a light on the best the World of metal has to offer at all times, we deemed it time for a chat with the band’s prime mover and guitarist extraordinaire, Stu Marshall, to find out more about the record. Enjoy the ride!

First off, congratulations on the new album – it’s a hell of a record. It’s been out commercially for a couple of days now – are you happy with the reactions you’ve seen and heard so far? “Scott, thank you mate for the kind words. So far, the most important reactions are from people like yourself who have metal in the heart. We are very happy with the comments and reviews to this point, as long as people are honest that is all we can ask for when it comes to reviews. The comments from most reviewers are is that it’s a powerful, in the face power metal album, and that is what we strived to make”.

The album took a while to get out; it’s six years since the Night Legion debut came out. Obviously COVID took a chunk out of that, but what other things conspired to make the wait for new music from the band so long? “It’s a long time right!? – As soon as the debut was finished we played a bunch of Australian shows and international supports and then, kick into 2017, my USA-based band Death Dealer started work on our fourth album and that took the better part of eighteen months to write. During this time though I wrote some material and sent it to the band to review. Midway through 2018 Death Dealer recorded and then we had some impacts with Covid (that everyone knows about) and other members of the band being busy with other projects. I’ll say it has been a journey but one we wanted to take very carefully – you hear the results right now”.

Can you tell us about the personnel on the new record? “Louie Gorgievski joined us as lead singer, he’s one of the best voices on the planet and I have known him for about twenty two years from when I was back in Dungeon. The guy is making waves overseas which has made reviewers wonder where he’s been hiding! – but we got him! Col Higginson on second guitar joined us a few years ago and, in the spirit of this band having some of my best mates, we go back thirty years as friends so it’s great to have him along. He’s also an accomplished lead vocalist in his own right so he brings a great skill. Glenn Williams is on bass. Glenn and I go back about twenty years when we played in Dungeon together and he’s been one of my best friends ever since. And the engine room… we have Clay T back on drums who was on the debut but had to leave due to other musical commitments so we are blessed to have him return. Clay is an incredible rock drummer… so he brings a classic ‘thump’ to the album”.

Do you think you’ll be able to tour much in support of this album or are the constraints of tour costs going to mean fewer shows? “It’s tough right? We just played live with UDO recently in Sydney and performed some of the new tracks but are working with promoters to see what else is happening this year”.

You always offer fans a wide variety of formats for your releases – how much time and effort does that take on your part to ensure you – and we – get just what everyone wants? “That’s my job as I see it… lets ask, ‘why should you buy the physical product when you can stream it’? So we work hard to make sure the product looks amazing and sounds the best it can for each format. We specially mastered the LP – we put extra time, effort and money into making sure the LP was treated as it’s own beast… with warm and fat mastering that works perfectly for vinyl. I think putting a CD master straight to vinyl can make the sound muddy and flat”.

Going back to that first album – and notwithstanding changes in personnel – how, if at all, do you think the band has changed since then in terms of style? “This album is a little wider musically. More chances have been taken and I think it’s deeper from a subject matter as well. For me personally, I spent almost a year on my guitar solos and it’s the best representation of me as a player I ever recorded. Additionally, it’s darker… songs like Hand of Death and our first single Hounds of the Baskerville are dark journeys to bring terror to the night…” (laughs)

What do you think stands out about the new album – and what are your favourite moments/tracks on it? “I really love Hand of Death. It’s channeling Candlemass and Dio-era Sabbath which for my money… It’s something power metal bands these days wouldn’t do. One feature of the album is the track listing flow. We worked really hard on that and I think it makes the album a good listen from start to finish”.

It certainly does. Moving away from Night Legion for a moment, how strong do you think the metal scene is here in Australia at the moment? “Very strong… bands like Vanishing Point, Black Majesty and Psycroptic are doing well and the list is quite long. We should be proud of this scene. Additionally, we have some great local promoters like Metal Evolution, Hardline Media, Metropolis Touring and Silverback touring doing great things with international acts and local bands”.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell the readers of Sentinel Daily? “All hail for reading this far! We are super proud of the album and hope you can check it out… the killer red vinyl is now in stock at Utopia Records and JB HiFi nationally”.

Cheers and thanks again for giving us such a great record! Looking forward to seeing the shows!

Fight or Fall is out now – read our review of the album HERE