by Perry Grayson
August 3rd, 2006

In the late nineties I managed to grab a bootleg “reissue” LP of Legend’s From the Fjords. Before the boot I practically wore out a cassette dub of the album from the same source. (Yes, thanks are in order yet again to Rob Preston of Doomed Planet Records!) I didn’t know anything about the band other than that they rocked in an heavy epic style that reminded me of Sabbath and Rush at the same time. The few facts I’d managed to divine from a photocopy of the lyric insert were that the band hailed from the east coast state of Connecticut and that the cover had been created by Ioannis Vassilopoulos, the Greek artist responsible for Fates Warning’s The Spectre Within and Awaken the Guardian and Blue Oyster Cult’s Curse of the Hidden Mirror and Long Day’s Night amongst others. I’d hear rumors that From the Fjords had been done merely to test out a studio owned by the band members and that they didn’t play gigs. But those were just rumors, as I later discovered.

1979, the year From the Fjords was released, was a both a magical and dark time for bands like Legend who dabbled in fantasy imagery and a love for what some considered archaic shag-edelic heavy rock. Sure, that’s when Cirith Ungol was gearing up to finally record an album (Frost and Fire came in 1981) and Manilla Road had just gotten together and would soon commit themselves to vinyl (Invasion and Metal are fine examples of this era). But disco and New Wave—and other dance driven types of pop—were making it nearly impossible for these bands to enjoy the kind of success their forefathers like Purple, Rush, Sabbath, Wishbone Ash, Mountain, Blue Oyster Cult and their ilk nearly a decade before. Unfortunately, Legend never attained the status of Manilla Road or Cirith Ungol, despite the brand of ball-clanging, minotaur-slaying heavy rock they purveyed. Obviously I’m not alone in thinking this. Slough Feg showed their love for what the ignorant claim to be “dinosaur rock” by covering the Legend track “The Wizard’s Vengeance” on their second LP Twilight of the Idols (Doomed Planet Records, 1998).

Fast forward to 2005, and out of the blue I received an email from one Fred Melillo, who I realized from the Legend LP liner notes was the ripping bassist. Fred had seen a list of my personal fave albums from the seventies and noticed I was a Legend fan. He initially got in touch to inquire if I knew where he might be able to buy an original copy of the LP. I figured, “Hey, since Legend is absolutely mind-blowing, and it’s a shame hardly anyone has ever heard them, why not ask Fred to do an interview?” Fred was kind enough to answer all of my questions, stuff that had baffled this humble heavy metal hunter for at least a decade.


Hellride Music: Legend is perhaps the most shadowed of all cult bands. Aside from the brief credits on From the Fjords, little if anything is known about that band. I kinda get the impression the three of you had been playing music for a while, but hadn't gotten any label attention. Could you tell a little about how you three got together and a bit of bio material on yourself, guitarist/singer Kevin (no relation to Ted?!) Nugent and drummer Ray Frigon?

Fred: Kevin (no relation to Ted) and I met at the Educational Center for the Arts (ECA) in New Haven CT. I was living in East Haven and Kevin in New Haven. We were both sophomores in high school and were fortunate enough to be chosen from our towns to attend ECA. ECA, which is still in operation, offered talented students of art, dance, music and theater the opportunity to study their craft daily. We would go to our high schools for just a few classes a day, then hop on a bus and spend the rest of the day doing nothing but music. It was fantastic! Just like the FAME movie but not as corny [laughs]. Kevin and I hit it off immediately. We became great friends and played in each others bands until we graduated. Right out of school, we played together in a band named EDGE. EDGE was a popular rock and roll cover band that played all over the North East. We had a great time with Edge, but all good things seem to come to an end. Disco was peaking and a couple of the guys in the band decided to pursue that avenue as there was a lot of money to be made playing disco, and the r’n’r clubs were diminishing. At that time we went our separate ways for a short time. Kevin then met Ray Frigon and bass player John Judge. That was actually the beginning of Legend. They were playing pretty heavy stuff, anti-disco if you will. Lucky for me that their bass player was not working out for whatever reason, and Kevin called me and asked me to join.

Hellride Music: Stylistically Legend seems to fit more into the early '70s. What kind of reception did you get in '79 when the album was recorded and released?

Fred: We had our diehard core group of fans. The album was played on a lot of college stations but that was it. We could never get any airplay on the big stations.

Hellride Music: Did you play any gigs, or was it purely a studio band?

Fred: We did play some gigs but not many. We were not asked back by a lot of the clubs. I think it was too much for them. And in one instance, our pyro tech used just a little too much powder and blew out a window in a club, and also burned holes in the shirt I was wearing, (the same shirt I wore on the back cover of the album LOL) We never saw that club again.

Hellride Music: There's an epic fantasy vibe going in most of the songs on From the Fjords. Who's to "blame" for that and why?

Fred: Ray wrote most of the lyrics. I really don’t know the answer as to why. I can only guess that comics were pretty popular at that time, such as Conan etc.

Hellride Music: I guess I’ll have to track Ray down someday to find out what his inspiration was on the fantasy side of things. Seems like a combination of epic/heroic fantasy like Robert E. Howard, J.R.R. Tolkien, Michael Moorcock, etc.

Do you know how many copies were originally pressed of From the Fjords? The original is really rare and has a huge value on the vinyl collectors' market.

Fred: I’m not 100 percent sure but I think only 500 were pressed. I was astounded to find out how much the originals are going for, and also disturbed that there are more counterfeits out there than originals. I started looking for an album about 10 years ago and cannot believe the price. I only have one album myself, and looking for another so that I can leave one to each of my kids.

Hellride Music: Ioannis became a pretty well known artist, doing metal LP covers for Fates Warning, Warlord, Blue Oyster Cult, Styx, Saga and others. What's the story behind the cover for the Legend LP?

Fred: Ioannis is a great artist and I’m very happy that he is doing well. I think it was easy for him to create the cover due to the song titles and lyrics. There was so much of the fantasy thing going on in the songs that the cover just came out of him.

Hellride Music: You mentioned that guitarist Kevin passed away years ago. Not to dwell on depressing things, but what happened to him?

Fred: Kevin was not well and it was awful to get that news. His brother Alan called to tell me. I was devastated.

Hellride Music: The song “R.A.R.Z.” stands for "rock 'n' roll zole", right? The overall sound and those lyrics lead me to think that maybe you guys had a tough time with the business side playing the kind of fantasy-inspired heavy rock you did. What's the story behind the song, seeing as it's pretty much the only non-fantasy inspired tune on the record?

Fred: Yes, RARZ does stand for Rock and Roll Zole. Back then, a Zole was short for an asshole. I’m not sure who came up with that term of endearment. It may have been Kevin, Kevin’s brother Alan or one of Alan’s friends possibly. Anyway, the term stuck. And yes, you are correct that we had a rough time with the business side. We just could not compete with the crap that was selling on the radio at that time.

Hellride Music: That's a crazy looking double neck (6 & 12 string) axe Kevin's playing on the back cover of the album. Looks like a custom... Do you remember what it was exactly?

Fred: I do remember. It was an Ibanez, 6 and 12. We used to do one tune where I would stand on a crate behind Kevin, and I would play the top twelve while Kevin played the six.

Hellride Music: By the way, Kevin's hair in that photo was nearly as big as the afros a few of the guys in the '70s band Bull Angus were wearing circa 1971! You kind of have a bit of that hippie flair going on in that one too. Do you think you guys missed the boat a bit on the early '70s scene? Why do you think the listening public shifted away from that whole thing towards the mid to late '70s?

Fred: Kevin’s Afro, LOL, it was envied by all!!! We missed the boat, or the corporations would not let us on. The whole music scene was just changing, for the worse. I feel that the general listening public is not open to new and different styles. Most guys and girls were going out to meet and dance, not listen. The whole purpose of the clubs became pickup joints. Legend was not a dance band nor background music. It’s not any better today as far as I’m concerned. There are tons of great players and bands that are starving, due to lousy music that the listening public buys.

Hellride Music: Since you were a Connecticut-based band, do you think it was harder to get noticed compared to a band living in say Los Angeles or New York? Was there any kind of rock scene there (and if so, would you care to talk about it a bit)?

Fred: Connecticut did not have much of a scene. The Connecticut rock scene then consisted of cover bands and a few original bands. Michael Bolton (he was Bolotin then) was a New Haven rocker before he changed to pop, and he was playing the same clubs we were. I believe that if he did not change styles he would still be unknown.

Would things have been different in NY or LA? Maybe, but due to the change in music during that time and what people were listening to and buying, I would say probably not.

Hellride Music: What have you been doing these twenty-some-odd years since the demise of Legend? Do you still keep in touch with Ray Frigon? Any idea what he's up to?

Fred: I have been a very busy guy. Playing Bass is still my number one music love, but I also tune pianos, give lessons, and run a project studio doing Demos for local musicians. I currently play with Ron Neuhauser, a KILLER guitarist, in many of his different bands, and we just released a new CD. Check out www.nocheez.com to see what we are doing. My goal is to be the best player/musician I can be. I continue to learn and practice as much as possible, and feel that I have never played better than I do now. My playing styles are more jazz/funk these days, but I still love that old metal ala Black Sabbath.

Ray Frigon... I often wonder what he is up to and hope he is still playing. We have not seen each other since the end of Legend. I think he is living up North, Maine possibly. I should try and track him down.

ogrerock

Great interview, Perry! Ray Frigon may be in Maine, huh? I guess I'll have to try to find him...

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http://www.ogrerock.com

powerviking

Great to read something about this US Legend...not much info around. I remember getting a cassette copy of the album via tape trading in the mid 90`s and I really liked it!
Perry is doing great work with the interviews, cool to see you`re around. (Thanx for the support man, Morningstar etc..)

SonicBludgeon

Great interview and they were a great band. I listened to them in the early 80s, and had the original issue of the vinyl. Unfortunately, it was ruined in a flood and I only managed to salvage the lyric sheet. I do have an old, worn thin from playing cassette, as well as various songs i put on self made cassette comps. I lost over 100 albums, and it included some of the rarest of the rare. Sad f'ing stuff, I know.

RayF

Yo, Fred!!!!!!!!! I can't believe I am reading this. My girlfriend sent me the link and I said, What???????? So, if anybody here can link me up with Fred, let me know how. And Fred if you see this, send me an email. Wow, man. Memories.

Ray Frigon

DrXparaMental

Thank you so much for this INCREDIBLE interview! It's wonderful to be able to "lift up" and show REAL thanks to great unsung underground musical heroes like Legend. I's so ironic that I saw this posted on the Hellride forums just this morning. I had transferred this album to CDR about two weeks ago from my vinyl copy and have honestly not taken it out of rotation since. It's amazing! The coolest thing about this record is the fact that it really does not sound "just like" anything I have ever heard before. Sure it does bare a slight resemblance to Rush & and even less to Sabbath but it's very obvious when listening to this fine slice of heavy progressive time, that these guys were their OWN well oiled machine. Truly tremendous song writing and uniquely powerful musicianship. Thank you (Legend) for not only your rich musical gift to us all, but also for your generosity in allowing us all such cool insight.

Peace!
DR.X