Hey remember Inquisitor from twenty years ago? No, in fact before their Bestial Mockery split in 2007 I’d wager very few people outside of the 90’s death metal scene in the Netherlands remember their 1996 debut ‘Walpurgis, Sabbath of Lust’. I knew the album because I’m a Hellwitch fanatic and folks recommend the album to me on forums like crazy due to the similarly nutso-smasho vocal style both bands have experimented with. If you’re not sure what I mean, think somewhere between a drunk Bobby Blitz on “I Hate” and Macabre on their ‘Grim Reality’ EP, which I guess is even more obscure a reference at this point… Anyway, Inquisitor is back after a second successive decade away from the recording studio and this time we get a truly worthwhile follow up to their psycho death/thrash debut. Its like they never took twenty years off.

So let’s see if I can connect the dots here: The drummer from Centurian was a founding member of Inquisitor and their first hiatus had him forming Centurian with Rob Oorthuis who was an Inquisitor guitarist for a short period of time. And the guitarist for post ‘Blasfemia Eternal’ Ancient Rites is a founding member of Inquisitor, which is good because Ancient Rites was a weirdo drum machine mess before ‘Fatherland’. So anyway this band is comprised of some incredible musicians from bands I’ve loved over the years and it is pretty insane to get a full-length with this much energy that recaptures what made the first album stand out so much, especially considering how old and gnarled they must be at this point. The cool thing is their style hasn’t changed at all since they left off in 1997, they’re playing that same propulsive high-speed death/thrash metal and thankfully this album isn’t almost a full hour like the first one.

Inquisitor do more with 35 minutes than most bands can in an hour and the rhythm section is entirely to blame. High speed precision drumming and a unique style of riffing that is all their own give ‘Stigmata Me, I’m in Misery’ a wild ass thrashing personality. The vocals are an acquired taste unless you’re just born ready for extreme psycho-screeched harping. I personally love it as they remind me of a death metal Cryptic Slaughter with the chops of a band like Hellwitch. The riffs aren’t chuggy traditional thrash riffing and run the gamut of metal influences within a restricted, defined style. I mean “Hate Misery Torture & Dismay” might as well be Cirith Ungol possessed by meth-satan covering Eyehategod if you really listen closely. Its a really good thing and the whole album is incredibly entertaining high speed death/thrash from start to finish. It doesn’t drag on and the recording balances the guitar and drum sound perfectly. I’m glad they’re making music again, here’s hoping the next one doesn’t take twenty years to come out!

Feast upon his sacred meat. 4.25/5.0

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