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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.