Legion, The: A Bliss To Suffer

Swedish Black Metallers The Legion return with their third album A Bliss To Suffer which follows on from Unseen To Creation in 2003 and Revocation three years later. This latest effort finds vocalist Lars Martinsson returning after "a period of commitments elsewhere" and a new bassist now on board in the shape of Kristoffer Andersson for what is claimed to be their "most mature, vicious and dark release to date". Determined to be in control of their own destiny this is very much a self sufficient release, having been entirely produced by the band members themselves including the engineering and mixing.

A bleak and atmospheric landscape is conjured up by the albums more epic moments, 'Call of the Nameless Black' and 'The Reaping of Flesh and Blood' in particular and the overall sound is enhanced by some well placed keyboard touches. The requisite amount of machine gun drumming and menacing vocals are provided and Martinsson has a brutal delivery. The choral embellishments on 'The Luring Depths' are well executed and hint at a more diverse side to the band away from the usual Black Metal clichés. But A Bliss To Suffer is let down by some lesser moments that are somewhat underwhelming, specifically the likes of 'Blood, Be Gone!', 'The Inimical' and 'Man-Beast' which are tired and uninspired. There is a halfway decent Black Metal album here with some relentless riffing, clean production and just enough touches of melody to break the disorder but it is the lack of consistency in the songwriting department that lets it down.

Track Listing
1. Shining Redemption 06:05
2. Call Of The Nameless Black 05:55
3. A Toil Beneath The Skin 05:12
4. Blood, Be Gone! 05:08
5. A Curse For The Dead 04:29
6. The Luring Depths 06:24
7. The Inimical 04:45
8. Man-Beast 03:35
9. The Reaping Of Flesh And Blood 06:49

Added: May 11th 2009
Reviewer: Dean Pedley
Score:
Related Link: Band MySpace
Hits: 2572
Language: english

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