About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

A reissue of a classic album from Colombian/American black metal cult act Inquisition.

Pros

• The reissue of this album has been remastered.
• The remastering gives the music a great deal of clarity.
• Reissue includes new artwork.

Cons

• None, as this reissue will grant Inquisition exposure to a wider audience.

Description

• Originally released in 1998 on Sylphorium Records.
• Reissued June 22, 2010 on Hell’s Headbangers Records.

• Inquisition originally hail from Colombia, but now reside in Washington state.

Guide Review - Inquisition - 'Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult'

Just in case you missed it the first time around, the good folks at Hell’s Headbangers Records have taken it upon themselves to reissue Inquisition’s classic debut full-length to a wider audience. A duo originally formed in Colombia, Inquisition are about to unleash their next full-length on an unsuspecting public, scheduled for a release later this year. Just to whet your appetite, here’s your chance to grab a hold of the long out of print Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult.

For a band with all of the hallmarks and mystique of a cult black metal act, Inquisition are surprisingly melodic and downright catchy. Don’t get me wrong, Inquisition have both feet firmly planted in the low-fi nether regions of unholy raw black metal, but manage huge doses of originality that are manifest in a couple of different ways.

First, most new listeners to Inquisition note the rather unusual vocals from frontman Dagon (who also handles guitar and bass for the studio recordings).

Dagon rasps in a nearly spoken monotone and eschews any sort of screams, growls, or other such loud theatrics. The effect is subtle, yet very effective and original. On subsequent releases from Inquisition, Dagon’s monotone devolves further into a near mumble without any sort of inflection.

Second, although at times fast with tight drumming almost fitting a death metal style, Inquisition concentrate their songwriting upon atmospheric melody with plenty of slower song arrangements. That’s not to say that Inquisition are some sort of symphonic band; far from it. Instead, they are not afraid to step away from the usual aesthetics of blast away speed with tremolo picking typical of late ‘90s black metal. Once again, the different approach works very well as Inquisition are highly original and, as a result, had a great deal of influence upon black metal as the ‘90s ended.

On another note, the remastering of this album is superb with a great deal of clarity given to the instruments, most notably the drums. The raw, evil vibe necessary in black metal is not lost, but the songwriting and musicianship are given a much greater chance to shine than on the original release.

In short, this reissuing of Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult comes highly recommended.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.