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C O L D ░ ▀
V O i D ░ ▐
p r e s e n t s . . .
Artist : Inquisition
Album : Black Mass For A Mass Grave
Year : 2020
Genre : Black Metal
Label : Agonia Records
Source : CDDA
R.date : 04.12.2020
Size : 131,79 MB
Encoder : LAME 3.100 -V0
Bitrate : avg. 279kbps
Quality : 44,1kHz/Joint Stereo
Tracklist:
01. Spirit of the Black Star 05:20
02. Luciferian Rays 06:36
03. Necromancy Through a Buried Cosmos 06:28
04. Triumphant Cosmic Death 07:14
05. My Spirit Shall Join a Constellation of Swords 07:05
06. Ceremony for the Gathering of Death 01:29
07. Majesty of the Expanding Tomb 05:50
08. A Glorious Shadow from Fire and Ashes 06:28
09. Extinction of Darkness and Light 05:41
10. Hymn to the Absolute Majesty of Darkness and Fire 06:36
11. Beast of Creation and Master of Time 04:27
12. Black Mass for a Mass Grave 01:55
─────
65:09
Release Notes:
Review from M-A:
On their new, eighth, album, Inquisition killed two
birds with one stone: they remained faithful to
their previous style and spiritual concept, without
abandoning any manner or technique, and along the
way they made a remarkable innovation. As a result,
Inquisition with 30 years of history behind them
can boast that they sound very fresh. The point to
be emphasized is that without such or any other
change the new material would remain just another
repetition of what we've heard many times on their
previous albums.
So what's all the palaver about? At first glimpse
it could seem that Inquisition were caught in a
bind: they could not afford to make their music
sophisticated for the sake of renovation, because
it would be impossible to perform it at concerts
while remaining a duet. But nothing succeeds like
simplicity: in some fragments Dagon split the
guitar part (well, one more time) and applied
different effects to each output, so in one channel
he got a classically overdriven rhythm guitar, and
in the other û an almost clean guitar with too much
reverb (or echo or delay). This second guitar could
be classified as the leader one because of its
sound, but this is not very correct because it has
the same part as the rhythm. Therefore, we will
call it a quasi-lead.
Well, such a lick sounds in every song on "Black
Mass for a Mass Grave", and it should be noted here
that its sound is completely uncharacteristic of
black metal û it seems to be borrowed from the
psychedelic rock of the 60s. Nevertheless, in fact,
this quasi-lead is very suitable for black metal û
there is something in its tone from the ecstatic
ritual singing, while also from the howling of a
wolf, and, yep, from the bleating of a goat. Full
complement!
Add to this that the pseudo-lead melodies are
really haunting, they will sound in your head for
hours. Everything necessary has been done for this,
both from the structural and emotional side.
Quasi-leads stand out strikingly against the
general black metal background (check the most
blatant example: the fragment in "Triumphant Cosmic
Death" at 1:56, where the slightly mournful lick
contrasts with a sharp muddy rhythm guitar sound
and aggressive blast beat), and equally important,
they repeat 3 or even 4 times throughout the song,
sometimes creating the illusion of the verse-
chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-verse-chorus scheme. As
for the sensitivity of the melodies, you need to
have an incredible talent for composing to create
such piercing melodies, there is no doubt about it.
No wonder that these pseudo-leads are almost
hypnotizing. Definitely, "Black Mass for a Mass
Grave" is the most melodic and bewitching album
Inquisition have ever released.
Despite this album's schtick, that's not to say
that Inquisition's general sound has changed a lot,
nowise, the guitar sound is heavy and very thick as
it should be for a band like Inquisition. However,
it seems more "sandy" compared to "Bloodshed Across
the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith"
released 4 years ago. It's enough to say that
"Bloodshed..." sounds almost brutal in contrast to
"Black Mass for a Mass Grave". But this "sandy"
change worked for the band, and not because it is
"return to roots" or something like that. The point
is that the "sandy" sound is best suited for the
new material, for its tempo and presentation.
The album is equable and sustainable, it is mostly
sustained in an average or even slow pace û blast
beats are not a frequent visitor to "Black Mass for
a Mass Grave". Among the ten songs of this album
("Ceremony for the Gathering of Death" and "Black
Mass for a Mass Grave" are rather ambient outros,
covering respectively the first and second halves
of the album), only four tracks use obvious blast
beat drumming: "Spirit of the Black Star",
"Triumphant Cosmic Death", "Hymn to the Absolute
Majesty of Darkness and Fire", and "Beast of
Creation and Master of Time ". Epic and majestic,
almost "pagan" atmosphere often reigns on the
album: something in the spirit of early Graveland
(for its most overt form check the fingerpicking
pattern in "A Glorious Shadow from Fire and Ashes"
after 2:44) and viking-era Bathory ("Majesty of the
Expanding Tomb" at 1:45, or the beginning of
"Extinction of Darkness and Light").
Two songs distinguish themselves even in this
quasi-pagan atmosphere. This is the third
"Necromancy Through a Buried Cosmos" û a very slow
song, which in itself is unusual for Inquisition,
it is built on a catchy riff with groove in the
vein of Celtic Frost. A quasi-lead suggesting a
heartfelt and slightly sad melody appears at 0:47
and 2:09, while at 2:52 it begins to get more
complicated, the feeling of cold conveyed by the
music becomes more solid and tangible. This is
probably the most melodic song on the album. Well,
it is not depressed but sad. The fifth song "My
Spirit Shall Join a Constellation of Swords" begins
with a slow fingerpicking pattern combined with a
string-bending technique. Starting from 0:47 a
quasi-lead enters û and this time it sounds more
like, ooh, a dulcimer or some other old string
instrument. When the lick is repeated at 3:06, its
melody is already more phlegmatic, and a magical
metamorphosis takes place here, it's as if this
melody shimmers like dancing rubble ice...
Meanwhile an emphatic groove rhythm presses the
listener. This is an amazing episode. And the
"pagan" feeling is the strongest here. Both
"Necromancy Through a Buried Cosmos" and "My Spirit
Shall Join a Constellation of Swords" are
fundamental tracks.
But all this û quasi-leads and a "pagan" atmosphere
û does not mean at all that Inquisition have
changed dramatically. Quite the opposite, if you
need the "good old" Inquisition, on "Black Mass for
a Mass Grave" you'll find all their signature
techniques like a pinch harmonic or string-bending
style of playing, while a fingerpicking guitar
technique still takes up at least a third of the
album. And of course the monotonous pressing of a
corpulent sound, you get that too. But already the
very first song "Spirit of the Black Star" shows
that the "invasion" of new techniques has breathed
new life into old tried-and-true techniques. There
are times, of course, when quasi-leads completely
pull the center of gravity onto themselves. For
example, in the finale of "Necromancy Through a
Buried Cosmos" at 6:00 you can hear an interesting
combination of a quasi-lead with a string-bending
style of playing û because of the "retro"
atmosphere it even feels like a slide is used here.
But this is rather an exception that proves the
rule.
The more traditional solos, of course, are present
on the album, but, like on the previous albums,
there are not so many of them, you can literally
count them on your fingers. A very original solo
sounds in "Spirit of the Black Star" at 4:33 û like
if you mix a classic thrash metal solo with some
David Gilmour's solo. A harsh, simultaneously
lyrical and chaotic solo passage, which uses a
pinch harmonic, sounds in "Necromancy Through a
Buried Cosmos" at 4:15, as it develops it turns
into a beautiful sad melody. In "Triumphant Cosmic
Death" at 5:03 the solo is also melodic, but this
time it is simpler in structure. In "Majesty of the
Expanding Tomb" at 2:15, the solo takes the quasi-
lead melody, which in its turn started at 1:45
using a groovy riffage as a basis. This combination
is also interesting for its progression.
Dagon's vocals on "Black Mass for a Mass Grave"
practically do not resemble the notorious
"reptilian" / "frog" vocals, they are already much
more melodious, even when compared with Abbath's
vocals. In addition, a very remarkable manner of
singing can be heard in at least in two episodes.
In "Luciferian Rays", starting from 0:27, a quasi-
lead sounds, and the vocals "duel" with it û then
also at 1:39 and 4:43. Here Dagon's vocals are more
melodious, so to speak, it is no longer just a
rasping grittiness, but exactly singing, and a
noticeable rattling noise gives it a dead color.
Such a dry tense voice contrasts noticeably with
the rich and confident quasi-lead. Amazing. Another
notable vocal line asserts itself in "Extinction of
Darkness and Light" at 1:15 and 2:24, Dagon sings
here in a cracked voice, almost at the end of his
tether.
Unlike the previous albums, "Black Mass for a Mass
Grave" uses keyboards more obviously, reinforcing
the old-school, quasi-pagan or the devil knows what
strange atmosphere of the album. However, every
time the keyboard parts are emotionally different
from each other. If in the final of "Luciferian
Rays" at 6:22 the keyboard part with its
grandiosity and pompousness resembles an organ
during a mass, then there is something from Deep
Purple in the overwhelmed part of "Triumphant
Cosmic Death", in a slow episode at 2:31. And in
this song's finale at 6:34, the keyboards sound
again with a blast beat line behind them, but this
time their part is epic, in the spirit of pagan
metal. "Majesty of the Expanding Tomb" begins with
classic Inquisition's bewitching fingerpicking
pattern, and the keyboards with some kind of effect
typical of hard rock pioneers accompany it, on a
new level this part repeats at 2:56. In turn, in
"Extinction of Darkness and Light" at 4:47, after a
pause, a sonorous keyboard part sounds û with its
minimalism and low sounding tones it would be very
suitable for raw black metal. A vivacious keyboard
part sounding a little harpsichord like reigns in
"Hymn to the Absolute Majesty of Darkness and Fire"
at 6:13. Well, let's not forget the already
mentioned outros: "Ceremony for the Gathering of
Death" and "Black Mass for a Mass Grave" contain
sacramental epic sounds in the spirit of Mortiis
and Wongraven. So never repeating keyboards enhance
the magical essence of the album.
Summarize: "Black Mass for a Mass Grave" causes a
storm of emotions while listening. The album is
over an hour long, but it doesn't get boring
throughout its length. This is a fascinating work.