Infernal Legion
Your Prayers Mean Nothing
5.4
While known for their grunge and indie/experimental scene with labels like Kill Rock Stars and Sub Pop, you don't hear too much about Seattle's burgeoning death metal scene. Frankly, it has something to do with the fact that there...just aren't that many, seemingly. Between Infernal Legion, Akimbo, Drawn and Quartered, Pathos, The Assailant, and Bloodhag, I'm afraid I have to declare ignorance towards the most of the metal scene of the northwest.
From the guitar tone to the slow and thunderous riffing, my only thought upon hearing the first track, "Frenzy the Legion" was how closely it sounded like a discarded Morbid Angel Domination-era song; good, but painfully derivative. The title track, the next song, only reinforces that comparison with their ringing riffs and rigid growling. Although my original comparison stays, Infernal Legion incorporate a nearly negligible doom-aspect on "Forest of the Diseased", which could even be unintentional, before manifesting into a Dissection influenced break and eventually, an exceptional grinding passage. I also heard the phrase "fucking sweet" uttered in the song, even though I'm fairly certain I'm taking it out of context. I'd enjoy Infernal Legion immensely if most of their lyrics sounded like they were written by late 80's/early 90's aging ad executives:
My guitar playing is totally sweet,
Blasphemous tones, they're super neat
While skateboarding I grind my bones,
Radical kickflip, I feel mega-complete
Unfortunately, we get the redundant Christ-hating and church-burning that you've come to expect. The remainder of the release is about the same as the other tracks that I summarized before. It's decent, but really uninspired.
Plagued by their somewhat flat production and repetition, I'm afraid Your Prayers Mean Nothing will pass under the radar of most deprived death metal fans. It's solid, sure, but there's very little that you probably haven't heard while playing guitar in your basement. Until the band takes a firm direction that isn't so closely mirrored by better known bands and lesser known but more talented outfits, I'll have to pass. Nothing special here, move along.
