Band:	The Legion
Album:	A Bliss To Suffer
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	April 2009

01. Shining Redemption
02. Call Of The Nameless Black
03. A Toil Beneath The Skin
04. Blood, Be Gone!
05. A Curse For The Dead
06. The Luring Depths
07. The Inimical
08. Man-Beast
09. The Reaping Of Flesh And Blood

Imagine going into a hotel elevator only to discover that the elevator man is wearing corpsepaint. The man then proceeds to screaming about Satan and blood, running around really fast and generally making a nuisance of himself throughout the ride. The Legion's music is exactly like that - it might seem like fun but in the end is still black metal elevator music.

The problem with the material on A Bliss To Suffer is that it is so pedestrian. There is no sense of threat here, no spark that would make silly occult lyrics seem convincing and absolutely no staying power. At least The Legion are a pretty fast band, so boring ideas don't linger for too long. Ex-Marduk drummer Emil Dragutinovic contributes some very speedy blastbeats while the rest of the band concentrates on rolling riffs and half growled half screamed vocals. Considering the drummer's connection and the name of the band, I wouldn't be surprised if Marduk and Keep Of Kalessin were the main inspirations here, but you know what - I hate to break it to you but those bands are fairly boring to begin with. I can't help but imagine the following train of thought taking place in the composition of this music - "Hmm, we have a pretty boring riff here, maybe if we play it faster nobody will notice?" Well, I noticed and here is something else that caught my attention: A Bliss To Suffer is one hell of an unintentionally funny record. A title like "Blood, be gone!" and overwrought, faux-poetic musings in "Call Of The Nameless Black" are just too hilarious to be for real.

So yeah, A Bliss To Suffer is on paper a pretty tolerable black metal release - it is fast, occult and atmospheric. Unfortunately, it is also uninspired and boring. And there is a reason why you don't tip the elevator man...