How would you prefer to die? Well, you have no choice, because in the world of Death Metal, it will always be torturous and bloody. If torture is on the agenda, how about death by Iron maiden. The band? No, the Germanic invention of the 14^th century, consisting of a box that was tall and wide enough to fit a human being, lined with spikes on the inside. You could stand inside without the spikes touching you, but the moment you tried to reposition yourself, sit or even fall asleep, the spikes would pierce your naked flesh. I could not imagine a more interesting or truly horrific way to die. The best option for me would be to lean against them all at once and hope for a quick, but surely painful, death.

On the fourth full length offering, "Under the Cloven Hoof," from the Washington, USA Death Metal quartet "INFERNAL LEGION," you will find that torture is just the beginning. Outside of three spoken "invocations," they offer six tracks of brutal slabs of Death Metal that, with just one listen, will condemn your soul for an eternity of burning. The first invocation sets the tone for a Satanic themed led album..."In the name of Satan, ruler of the earth, the king of the world...open wide the gates of Hell and come forth from the blessed earth...I swear on this day to be your faithful servant..." "Under a Massacre Moon" then ensues. Death in this track comes from the hordes of Satan's underworld beasts, who are unleashed on the earth and trample and consume alive all on their chaotic march throughout the lands, leaving a trail of blood and entrails in their path.

In "Mountain of Human Sacrifice," death comes from the vocals of Josh Smith. He seems to speak for the Dark Lord as the Mouth of Sauron did in The Lord of the Rings. His guttural utterances melt your organs from the inside, as blood begins to pour out of all of your orifices. The guitars cut through your flesh like the barbed points of a chainsaws. In "In Hell We Reign," death comes from slow and arduous torture. The mid-tempo pace and desolate vocal laments echo days of hellfire that never relent...as your days turn to weeks, and then to years, and then to decades and centuries. The second "invocation" talks about the Devil expanding his kingdom, and acknowledge him as Lord and Savior. In "Ordained and Enslaved," death comes from watching your loved ones being plucked from their lives and forced into eternal servitude with demons of the underworld. All are slaves, twisted and mutilated until they no longer recognize themselves. All you can do is watch it happen. Some doomy and melodic elements in the track really help to bring this feeling to the forefront.

In the title track, the music paints a landscape of absolute hopelessness. Death comes from the incantation of Satan as a cloven hooved being, most of the times in the form of an unnatural cross of a human and a goat. You've all seen it...the hooved crooked legs, and the large and evil looking goat head that usually has a staff with a skull at the head. He forces his perversions on you, and to drink the blood of the fallen for strength. His blasphemy is omnipresent. He commands you with a slight of his hand or a strike of his staff to your head. In the final incantation, they talk about the prophecy of those who will be coming in the name of Satan. "At the Gates of Blasphemy" is the final chapter to the story. The gates are open and it's soon to be Hell on earth. Reflected in this idea is a song with a bit of a jovial groove, welcoming in anticipation what will follow. The vocals are chant like and the music ominous and impending.

The themes on the album are easy to assimilate and the connection between the song titles and the imagery invoked is strong. Satanic music is nothing new to the genre, but the quartet play with energy, intensity, and even some fun hidden in there. The gritty production was also done very well to fit the sound that the album needed to get across the vile messages. For me it was the vocals that really stood out, at times so black that it could have been Satan himself singing. Ready for your death yet? Your time has come...