Review by Jeger on July 15, 2024.

Artists deny the competitive nature between black metal scenes, but I feel like it works much like capitalism in that each scene literally brings out the very best in another in much the same way as Walmart brings out the best in Target. Each company competes with the next while manufacturers scramble to meet the demand as products evolve year by year. Not even a conscious thing, just evolution in action. We can argue all day over which national black metal scene puts out the best material, but the reality of this arguable situation is that it is not actually arguable at all, because it doesn’t matter how great Finnish black metal is sounding these days or how overlooked the Hungarian scene is. It’s all piss in a bucket compared to Inquisition…

A style beholden to none and talents that fall well within world-class territory. Incubus? Greatest black metal drummer out there outside of Mgła’s Darkside, and Dagon? A brilliant sense of melody, the ability to create a most maledictive atmosphere and a compositional mad scientist is he. These guys just do it all right from the gritty Devil-worshipping black metal of their debut, “Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult”, to the magnificent cosmological majesty of “Obscure Verses for the Multiverse”. The latter was released in 2013 and would mark the beginning of the Season of Mist era.
We’re transcending time, space and the fabric of our multiverse apparently. A pretty big leap forward from the olde-fashioned occult material and the music had evolved as well. One conglomerate bringing out the best in the other, remember? In this case, it was Season of Mist who seemed to take this project to previously unseen plateaus. In other words, it was time to knock the brakes off the motherfucker and kick it into 5th. Dynamics and effects being the differentiators between this album and Inquisition’s previous output. The vocals emit ghastly reverberations into a most mystifying atmosphere as images of Great Olde Ones enthralled in ritual and in tune with the universe are invoked in spine-chilling tracks like the titular cut and “Joined by Dark Matter, Repelled by Dark Energy”. The former a riff-dominated banger that alternates between hearty riffage and dreamlike melodic sequences and the latter? You know how idiots are always claiming that UADA ripped of Mgła? Listen to this one and tell me you don’t hear UADA. You can pick this up in other USBM albums like Nachtmystium’s “Addicts: Black Meddle, Part II. I could be wrong but it sounds like UADA were more inspired by Inquisition and other founding USBM bands, but I digress… Intoxicating melodic passages and just the epic of it all. Heart & soul incarnate… Just like the haunted ones…

It’s as if you’re literally elevating over everything you ever thought you knew about black metal. No one does it like this and no one ever will. “Inversion of Ethereal White Stars” - like the soundtrack to achieving immortality - compellingly ethereal as the title suggests, and yeah, more UADA foreshadowing. “Obscure Verses for the Multiverse” closes with “Infinite Interstellar Genocide”: brakes busted off, momentum driving forward, pure aggression here as the riffs swirl and pulsate to unabashed onslaughts of pounding double-bass currents and jackhammer blast-beats.

Every track is basically a different variation of the same melody but it works. Inquisition just give you everything you want all the time and with no regard for cholesterol or gout. A bloody feast of cosmological black metal that’s sure to appease anyone from the contemporary black metal enthusiast to the stubbornly curmudgeon. Other bands try to create records like “Obscure Verses for the Multiverse” and they get shit on because it’s not true black metal. But in this case, the music is just so good that no one can deny it. It’s captivating, invigorating and like a shot of cosmic energy straight to the dick…

Inquisition have just released what is arguably their best album to date in “Veneration of Medieval Mysticism and Cosmological Violence” and the current Agonia era is looking very promising. I’ve started to understand that Inquisition are probably the greatest black metal duo to have ever struck a chord or to have penned a note and it’s not even fair. Yep, Dissection was and Rotting Christ are better… That’s about it, kids. As I mentioned before, their style is eclectic as it spans over both traditional and cutting edge concepts paired with music of genre-defining proportions. Transcend my friend. It’s time to maybe take some mushrooms and check out the stars while you listen to “Obscure Verses for the Multiverse”. Hit me up and I’ll meet you there…

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Felix on February 27, 2024.

I am impressed by bands that have found their individual song formula. A relatively unique appearance is hard to achieve. It is thus all the more gratifying that Inquisition have managed the rare feat of creating their own sonic (and lyrical) cosmos. The monotonously bubbling riffs create a sombre atmosphere while the drums commute between blast beat parts and mid-tempo rhythms. All components merge into each other and the result are almost immaculately flowing songs that are enriched by the autonomous dark nagging of the lead vocalist and desperately screaming solo guitars.

Inquisition stay painfully true to their success recipe. "Obscure Verses..." sounds like the second part of "Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm". One can call this way of proceeding narrow-minded, stale and aimless. Yet nobody who has only a little affinity for an extremely dark mixture of black and thrash elements will deny that Inquisition have penned another strong full-length. Do not even think about blaming the band for predictability. The omnipresent guitars distinguish themselves by this perfidious combination of pretty phlegmatic riffs and hasty lines and some rather abrupt breaks deliver the right amount of twists and turns. It's an almost minimalist approach, but its impact is gigantic. Inquisition take the listener on a journey through time and space and believe me, this space is filled with black coldness.

The in-depth sound is on a par with that of the titanic predecessor and the songs also reach more or less the same level as those of "Ominous Doctrines...". Guess it is only a matter of personal taste whether you prefer the fifth or the sixth full-length of the Colombian masters of darkness. I don't tend to the here presented album, because I miss a little bit a heroic, triumphant part every now and then. However, that's no big deal and the deterioration (if we want to use this slightly misleading tune) remains at an absolutely acceptable level. In terms of heaviness, ferocity and pressure, "Obscure Verses..." does not stand in the shadow of the previous work. Additionally, it provides the same degree of viciousness and unfathomability. Its strongest part begins with the third track and ends with "Joined by Dark Matter, Repelled by Dark Energy", track number 6. The both songs at the beginning are also flawless, but these twenty-two minutes of highly efficient riffs, almost surreal melodies and mysterious chants spread their enticing aroma in the most impressive way. I have heard that people who can resist this scent are usually called ignorant idiots.

The remaining pieces also deliver the well known mix. On the one hand, you have devastating drums, elastic riffs and vile vocals, on the other hand the band presents relaxed rhythms, sprawling lines and - well, vile vocals. I freely admit that the songs at the end of the album are slightly weaker than the rest, but this is a well known syndrome. Just ask bands such as... guess you know them all, they are too numerous to count. Anyway, here we are talking about Inquisition's album from 2013 and the main thing is that the (doubtlessly obscure) song formula itself remains unchained. Thus, the music and the almost oversized packaging of the limited edition (goat leather key ring, printed patch, embossed printing) form a strong unit. Good to know that their seventh full-length with the handy title "Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith" is already raring to go.

Rating: 8.8 out of 10

Review by Adam M on November 12, 2013.

Inquisition plays a galactic and intense form of Black Metal that is a very welcome change to what is normally heard from the genre. There are moments of spacey splendor followed by cataclysmic riffs that tear the foundation of the universe. Despite a focus on aggression, there is an addictive quality to the somewhat out of the norm approach of this band. Patterns of riffs will become engrained in the listener’s head long after listening.

The band recalls the likes of recent Immortal work with the almost thrash-driven riffs that still stay completely within the Black Metal universe. The band is equally tight in their instrumental performances and there is very little to fault with this album from this standpoint. However, there is a tendency, as with Immortal, for the songs to sound slightly too similar to one another. This makes for an album that isn’t perhaps as distinctive as some other quality metal albums, but one that certainly packs a huge punch in terms of overall delivery. I believe "Obscure Verses For The Multiverse" is a satisfying improvement over their previous opus and has enough moments of instrumental bliss to please any fan of the Black Metal genre. One will notice that the riffs venture off into more distorted territories from time to time and this adds to the overall sound of the outfit.

In terms of late additions to the year for the Heavy Metal genre, this will be one of the highlights. There are no true highlights with the album; all of the songs are worthwhile. Black Metal lovers will be absolutely enamored with "Obscure Verses For The Multiverse".

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9.5
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 8
Originality: 8
Overall: 8.5

Rating: 8.6 out of 10

Review by Felix on April 8, 2025.

Ten things I did not know until I listened to With The Old Breed. In detail, it was new to me that

1. frontman Johannes Clemens embodies exactly the dude that Mille stopped to be roughly 40 years ago. Mr. Petrozza, once an energetic ruffian, now an egocentric and lazy dictator, can admire his reincarnation in the video for “Lament of the White Realm”, among others. Johannes acts full of passion and aggression, his grim yet juvenile nagging and barking fits perfectly to a track that leaves definitely no room for improvement. Just enjoy the fantastic guitar melody fragment which accompanies the line “Agony calls through the echoing walls, over the edge a promise falls”. Simply perfect.

2. the mid-paced tunes of “Pleasures Of The Flesh” (Exodus, of course) still have such an impact. But the strong 'Fragmentation' with its drum intro, the sawing guitars, and its casual background shouts remind me a lot of 'Till Death Do Us Part' and 'Braindead'. And, by the way, its ominous guitar tones at the end show an element that did not occur on these semi-classics. So don’t jump to conclusions – Warfield don’t begin to run out of breath on the fourth position, they just add another, very well-tasting flavor to their material.

3. it makes so much fun to scream “Dogs For Defense” repeatedly, a song title Holy Moses obviously forgot to use.

4. newcomers, who need f**king seven years for the successor of a well-done debut, can return with such an infectious vibrancy. Honestly speaking, I was more or less certain that the thrash metal lights had gone out in the living room of the brethren Johannes and Matthias, but on With The Old Breed they prove impressively that they are still able to play themselves into a delirium Clemens, a new medical diagnosis which does have only positive effects on your health. Their fury meets on a par with technical precision – Drummer Dominik Marx delivers his share as well – and thus a very resilient and robust base is laid for a great full-length.

5. I was wrong concerning the production of their debut. I wrote that it is dust-dry and well balanced, but now, in direct comparison to the crystal clear, somewhat cold yet never sterile vehemence of With The Old Breed, a massive difference gets evident. No doubt, especially the directness and never mechanical yet positively emotionless guitars transport the true old school thrash metal feeling – regardless of the fact that the pretty modern mix does not worship the golden eighties.

6. it is possible to perform in the classical three-piece configuration (bassist/vocalist, guitarist, drummer) like Venom, early Tank, Motörhead, or Sodom without spreading any filthy, primitive, or noisy vibrations. Warfare does not count in this context, because their drummer was responsible for the vocals. Warfield compensate for this by rasping guitars, surgical accuracy, and restless belligerence. Already the first songs, the socio-critical opener 'Melting Mass' and the Slayer-esque 'Appetitive Aggression', feature these traits.

7. the young thrash generation does not shy away from the sporadic use of keyboards. The acronym 'GASP' (Gather at Suffering’s Peak) is not only the longest song of the album, it is also the only track where the keyboards occur. They add an appropriate, almost surreal end-time feeling and reinforce the baleful mood of the song. This form of integration of this instrument upgrades the piece, even though its ending is a bit too long.

8. my musical mindset is really immune against any form of evolution. 'Soul Conqueror' is nothing but a simple and compact, direct and violent torpedo. I have already heard a lot of similarly limited, strict songs and I begin to wonder how this song-writing formula comes to new results again and again. But the song works excellently and this is a kind of track I always liked and sorry, this will not change in future as well.

9. that the trio has such a good instinct for the flow of a full-length. One can listen to this work from the beginning to the end and neither uniformity nor inadequate breaks show up. Thrash might be a narrow-minded genre, but this is not to say that its albums automatically suffer from the given frame. By far not! With The Old Breed will hopefully not be the last album to prove this thesis.

10. young dudes like the three musicians from the Southwest of Germany want to be With The Old Breed. After more than 56 years of survival, I can say that I have already joined the ranks of this breed and I enjoy that Warfield want to march with us. An entrance examination is not required. Their musical approach leaves no doubt that they have inhaled the Bay Area spirit completely. Bands like Exodus, Sacrifice, or Forbidden find their echo in the sound of the Teutonic three-piece.

In total, we have an old-school presenting (yet freshly attacking) approach and a longing for the old breed. Therefore this review, written by an old guy, demands an old slogan to be complete. So if you see this album: buy or die! Or: thrash or be thrashed! Or: bang that head that doesn’t bang! It’s up to you, but don’t ignore With The Old Breed.

Rating: 8.8 out of 10