LEGEND - From the Fjords,1979 holy grail of heavy metal

$

868

Yes, this is the real deal. Not a boot, but one of the original 500 privately pressed in 1979. At a time when the biggest thing in music was disco, these three guys were working out in their garage the beginnings of what came to be known as epic/heavy metal. The album has the highest ratings on any metal website, and is a legendary "Milestone in creative Heavy Metal."

Kevin Nugent (no relation to Ted), Raymond E. Frigon and Fred Melillo were the group, with Kevin on lead, Ray on drums and Fred on bass. Sadly, Kevin passed away in 1983, but Ray and Fred are still around, and I read a nice interview Fred gave on one of the many metal websites. According to the interview, even Fred only has one copy! (Fred, if you read this, contact me !) I am not an expert on heavy metal, and I did not know what this was when I was looking through the records I bought from a collection in central Connecticut a few months ago. I almost put it in my "dollar bin" box that I take to record shows, which I do occasionally. Something about it told me to keep doing some research - after 20 plus years of collecting, your instincts can serve you well!

Anyhow, I did find out what a rare record this is, but since Heavy Metal is not a genre I collect, I am putting it up for auction. The record is in excellent condition, as is the sleeve. To be technical, there is slight scuffing on the front cover, a bit more obvious on the back - the usual ring wear scuffing. Very slight wear on the corners and edges. The original lyric and credits sheet is included, mint condition. The vinyl is NEAR MINT PLUS, extremely clean, with only the slightest sign of scuffing on one side and 2 or 3 totally superficial hairline marks on the same side that are normally unremarkable and have no effect whatsoever on the sound. The other side is MINT. The slightly scuffed side probably was scuffed from being slid out of the paper jacket once. This record has no sign of play, none! I have since put it in an audiophile sleeve, but have kept the original paper sleeve.

Not only is this record in NM+ condition, it is SIGNED (by all three members?) [Actually, looking at it again, I can't confirm that, because it may say "Love, Kevin Nugent" - I thought it was three names at first, but now it looks like Kevin's, and it is signed under his picture] Look at the last image, which shows the inscription as: "Ann + Ed To two of the craziest and nicest people ever, [signed] ". I don't know who Ann and Ed were, but bless their hearts, this record escaped their magic marker. Many of the records in the collection I bought were ruined by a big fat "Ann and Ed" in magic marker on the cover - somehow, this one escaped that fate.

Being curious by nature, I thought I should at least listen to a few minutes of track one. Believe me, I was careful! Well guess what - twenty minutes later, I was still standing there. Again, I am not a heavy metal fan, but I do like hard rock. THESE GUYS WERE AMAZING. I was taken in right from the start. There isn't one boring second on this record. Everything works. Sort of like really early Deep Purple, but better, more sophisticated, even. Maturity, virtuosity, creativity - these were the words that came to mind. Time changes, riffs, harmonies, breaks, hard/soft ability, consistency. If only they had been able to get someone with a really great voice, like ... but that may not have been what they wanted. These three guys should have made it BIG, VERY BIG.

Anyhow, there you have it, LEGEND "From the Fjords" 1979 Empire records A1186, with same matrix number in the lost wax, both A and B, along with a "FWQ" inscription.

A GREAT record that I am proud to sell, because it really does deserve it's reputation.

I almost forgot: cover art by Ioannis, who was apparently an art student at the nearby University of Bridgeport. Ioannis went on to do cover art for Deep Purple, The Allman Brothers, Styx, Blue Oyster Cult, and so on. I guess this cover is a heavy metal art cover rarity as well. Heavy metal art lovers, check out the work by Lawvere I also have up for auction under art.

A LITTLE UPDATE: Fred Melillo was kind enough to contact me, and we had some great conversation by email. He is still a very active bass player, just do some google searching to find out more about him and his work, as well as the band he is with.  Ray Frigon is also still around, does phenomenal percussion, and makes custom drums that sound and look very beautiful. It was a pleasure to find out that Kevin and Fred met while in High School right here in New Haven, in the same school my son attends now ! (An Arts magnet school called ECA - Educational Center for the Arts). There is still a lot of buzz in this town about LEGEND, so the legend lives on.