Band: Inquisition
Title: Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar
Year: 2016
On their new album, "Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith", Colombian duo Inquisition creates what I would call black metal for the space age. Satan has moved out of the dark woods and frozen wastelands, into a darker and colder emptiness among the stars. I have to say that I'm quite happy as I've got a soft spot for astronomy and cosmology in general and space themed metal in particular.
Inquisition paints an audio landscape of meandering riffs and vocals that can be described as the croaking of mantras. The moods that the band is able to induce can be compared to looking up at a starry sky and pondering on the insignificance of mankind: "Through the Divine Spirit of Satan," as one of the song titles read, "A Glorious Universe is Known".
"Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith" is thus a logical continuation of the two latest releases: "Obscure Verses for the Multiverse" (2013) and "Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm" (2011). New style approaches can be heard, but first and foremost in the details. The characteristic frog-like voice from Dagon, for example, has become a bit more conventional - something that certainly is welcomed by many, even if I personally always thought that his singing style suited the music in all its strangeness.
Furthermore, one can sense a return to a little bit colder and sharper production à la "Ominous Doctrines ...", compared to the warmer sound of "Obscure Verses ...", which benefits both the theme and the song writing. The songwriting is as can expect from Inquisition of a very high and consistent level. There is an impressive flow in the progressions between riffs, between atmospheric building and outbreaks, as well as in the album's overall structure. Inquisition is able to enthrall like few others - and yet they stand virtually unchallenged in their spaced out subgenre of black metal. One of the more solid metal releases of the year.
