INQUISITION

I'd read a bit about INQUISITION over the years and with my interest piqued I'd always wanted to check out an album, but never got around to it until now, thanks to a Hells Headbangers digital promotional copy of reissued 1998 debut album, "Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult". Now I know what all the fuss was about in underground black metal circles. Few outside of that group may be familiar with the work of INQUISITION, a situation that must change under the assumption that subsequent albums are as great as this forceful, dynamic, rather unique (especially vocally) and, apparently, previously hard to find disc, which has been remastered for a much better sound, repackaged with new artwork (Antichrist Kramer),and is soon to be released by Hells Headbangers.

Let's get what is sure to be a sticking point for some out of the way first; the vocals. Throughout the not coincidentally 66:06 running time one style is heard, that of a monotone, croaky, almost spoken (and intelligibly so) style that initially takes one aback, yet ends up being one of the most endearing qualities of "Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult". As the minutes pass, the chanting quality of the vocals borders on the hypnotic and it soon becomes glaringly evident that the vocals are one of the album's most endearing qualities. Moving on…

Composition is what "Into the Infernal…" is all about though. It is an expert blend of traditional black metal that emphasizes muscular riffing over minor-note BM harmonizing and comes with truckloads of groove and occasional blackened doom, melodic segments, and subtle atmospherics that never rise to the level of esoteric shoe-gaze. In other words, it is so well composed that just over an hour's worth of it is captivating for the duration. Right from the start, "Unholy Magic Attack" gives one a taste of the arrangement dynamics at work, in this case because of the straight ahead BM power-drive that morphs into beefy mid-tempo groove with perfectly placed, spine tingling leads, and airy guitar passages before revisiting a quicker pace. The examples of that kind of combination are many here and not because the riffs are complex or the rhythms challengingly angular; rather, it is the selection and placement of no-frills, meaty riffs and tempos and dropping them in at precisely the right places that makes this and so many other tracks so grand. Those qualities are present to an even more impressive degree on the cut that follows, "Those of the Night".

It is also the subtle, yet enormously effective, twists on the riffs that ring bells and float boats. Check out the lick that leaps out of the mix on the nine-minute "Summoned by Ancient Wizards Under a Black Moon", one of several that alternate between melodic-drive and DARKTHRONE diesel-groove. An argument could be made that "Empire of the Luciferian Race" boasts kill-shot groove riffs that are even tougher. Better add "Journey to the Infernukeorreka" to the list of tracks boasting cool-as-fuck plays on a basic riff too. As if that weren't enough, folk melody lines are heard amidst the hypnotic sway and chordal vibrations of "The Initiation", the album's tuneful high point.

And yet there is so much more than that on offer here. More superb riffery, yes, but also trance-like, foreboding doom on songs like "Solitary Death in Nocturnal Woodlands". How perfect is that song title? "Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult" is a great black metal album, plain and simple. Now excuse me while I start adding to my now meager INQUISITION collection whilst anticipating the release later this year of the new full-length album.