On May 3rd Ligion will be rocking Elixur. They'll be coming into town along with Soil and Seemless to pump out some searing rockers for the Rockford crowd. Their debut CD is External Affairs, and the group will be showcasing their fiery blend of old and new textures. It's sure to get music fans up on their feet.

These guys take the old familiar hard rock arrangements and pull them together in new ways. They stir in a healthy serving of newer sounds and the result is music that is at once modern and fresh while still maintaining a texture that will call to mind your favorites from years gone by. Make no mistake, these guys aren't breaking a lot of new ground, but they are bringing a new perspective to a solid rocking landscape that we've grown to love over the years.

Moving from textures that feel almost like The Killers into jams that call to mind classic rockers like Kiss, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin (sometimes all within one song), these guys are sure to please modern rock fans while giving classic rock aficionados a new band to call their own.

Ligion is a five man band: Ligion (vocals), June (guitar and vocals), Seth (guitar and vocals), Johannes (drums) and Levi (bass). You'll note that this lineup provides three singers. This gives them the ability to throw in some killer three part harmonies that add an infectious hook to their music - something you don't often find in hard rocking sounds these days.

They also have a philosophy that drove them to create a full album, rather than just a couple singles along with some filler. June puts it this way, "In an age when your best two songs from a record can be downloaded for a buck, we wanted to keep some of that integrity with an album that you'd want to listen to from track one to track eleven."

While the album is sure to please, it is really the live venue where these guys excel. June continues by saying, "We work hard for our money every night. People usually have no idea who we are, and the first half of our set we get a mixed reaction. Like, What am I watching?' By the third song, they're screaming and yelling and punching their fists in the air. That's how we measure success."

If you are a fan of strong songwriting and energetic modern rock with a slant towards the great music of the past, you really need to check out Ligion. Drop by their website and hear a couple songs. Hey, you've got time to pick up the CD. Then get down to the show. You'll be one up on a lot of the people there in that your fists will be in the air on the first song - why wait?