Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Inquisition - Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith (2016)
At album number seven Inquisition were virtually unstoppable. They were at that point in their career when some scribes were tipping them for mainstream (metal) success - which I felt was unlikely - as the accessibility of their material attracted more new fans than it did piss off old ones! The fact is though whilst there isn't any other band in BM that manages to use melody so effectively and consistently, there is much more to the sound of Inquisition that requires any fan to actually stop what they are doing, sit down with a pair of headphones and truly get lost in some majestic yet abrasive extremity. Since then of course there's been some challenges for the band so I can't help but feel that this record is suitable enough swansong.
There is an intro, an outro and a coda on offer here. Each of them using varying measures of drone, alien ritualistic radio babble and dark ambience to good effect. Three tracks that distinguish well the beginning and culmination of an otherwise relentless and exhausting experience.
That isn't to say that the celestial expansion that takes place during this record is spread over lengthy and meandering compositions. The longest track clocks in at around six minutes (from memory) and yet the structural integrity of what Inquisition manage to do over the course of a four or five minute piece is as solid as you would expect any band (or in this case duo) to accomplish after twenty years together. There's no particularly technical intensity to the riffs that are employed by Dagon or the to blasting fury of Incubus' drumming. The simple aspects that underpin most of what happens here are enhanced by the arrangement, by the subtle time changes and by the nods to influences of the past.
For all the familiar "bending" to skew a little more effect and depth out of a riff there's an obvious thrash influence to tracks like "A Black Aeon Shall Cleanse", as well as more rock n roll feel to the drums of "Power From The Center of the Cosmic Spiral".
New things on this record? For me it is a much more rich sounding affair that manages to thicken up the sound without washing away the minimalist edge to proceedings that give Inquisition their truly evil edge. Vocally, Dagon seems stronger this time out and reminds me more than ever of Abbath. In addition to his superb croaking delivery a nod to Dagon's guitar playing needs to also be afforded as this Inquisition album is all about the riffs, melodies and leads. It is these that drive things forwards with the thundering hooves of Incubus to carry them along nicely. The title track seems to replace vocals with near sonic firings of lead guitar to drive the tempo and pace of the track as a whole.
The term is often overused in reviews and not always applied appropriately but in this instance Inquisition truly can be described as a band at the top of their game.