{"id":17996,"date":"2014-02-21T00:00:11","date_gmt":"2014-02-21T00:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=17996"},"modified":"2014-03-13T11:38:47","modified_gmt":"2014-03-13T11:38:47","slug":"album-review-metal-inquisitor-ultima-ratio-regis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-metal-inquisitor-ultima-ratio-regis\/","title":{"rendered":"METAL INQUISITOR – Ultima Ratio Regis (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

METAL INQUISITOR
Ultima Ratio Regis<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nMassacre (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Formed in the late 90s by lead guitarist Blumi and drummer Witchhammer, Germany\u2019s Metal Inquisitor have plodded along steadily through the years, releasing a batch of decent albums best described as full on heavy metal. Although Witchhammer fled the nest in 2000, the band has been prolific when it comes to fist-pumping metal. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s been four years since 2010\u2019s Unconditional Absolution<\/em>, however, on which Blumi was accompanied by drummer Havoc, guitarist T.P., bassist Kronos and vocalist El Rojo. Kronos departed in October 2010, and was replaced by Cliff Bubenheim. With Ultima Ratio Regis<\/em>, Metal Inquisitor are once again armoured to the hilt for another ride into battle.<\/p>\n

Metal Inquisitor are not ashamed to wear their influences on their sleeve. With so many classic bands being paid homage to over the last few years, Metal Inquisitor show the pretenders how it\u2019s done, racing through solid compositions which bring to mind the traditional strains of Saxon, Iron Maiden, et al. <\/p>\n

Each of the songs on offer here gallops along with denim-clad energy. Thankfully, they haven\u2019t succumbed to the depths of modern technology, which means that Metal Inquisitor sounds like an 80s metal band in its prime, and that\u2019s a big compliment. Album opener \u2018Confession Saves Blood\u2019 is a rollicking rocker of racing drums that builds steadily from the initial simmering intro, and with that chugging riff of fire and flailing bass, it\u2019s a sure-fire winner as an opening salvo. <\/p>\n

\u2018Burn Them All\u2019 shimmers in with a trickling bass and molten melody before the blazing structure takes hold; again, there\u2019s a hint of Saxon with more epic strains, hinting at majestic classic German metal. \u2018Burn Them All\u2019 epitomises Metal Inquisitor\u2019s style with those chest-pounding vocals \u2013 which are clear and intense \u2013 while the riffs blaze off into the night, leaving a vapour trail in their wake.<\/p>\n

\u2018Call The Banners\u2019 is equally anthemic, again resorting to that traditional gallop we\u2019ve come to know and love of numerous New Wave Of British Heavy Metal albums. However, the band isn\u2019t just a one-dimensional beast \u2013 far from it, in fact. \u2018Black Desert Demon\u2019 is a chunky affair of ominous melody and weighty aplomb, while \u2018Bounded Surface\u2019 and \u2018Death On Demand\u2019 are extremely fearsome, the latter hinting at some thrashier structures, reminding me of a lethal mix between Metal Church and Blind Guardian. <\/p>\n

Although the likes of \u2018Self-Denial\u2019 could be deemed a tad generic, there\u2019s real purpose about Metal Inquisitor; no real frills, but just sound and sturdy metal anthems that dig in deep and get the blood flowing. \u2018Servant Of State\u2019 lowers the tempo slightly, while \u2018The Pale Messengers\u2019 offers a tidy chug and bouncing bass, leading us to the closing \u2018Second Peace Of Thorn\u2019 \u2013 the truly epic track on the opus. Running for nearly eight minutes, it showcases the more imaginative and majestic side of Metal Inquisitor.<\/p>\n

To be honest, I\u2019m slightly saddened that the guys didn\u2019t inject a few more simmering passages of this ilk into the opus. But having said that, the main aim of Ultima Ratio Regis<\/em> is to rock hard, and that\u2019s exactly what it does. This is full-blooded metal that takes no prisoners, and \u2018Second Peace Of Thorn\u2019\u2019 really is the icing on this cake of glimmering steel.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

METAL INQUISITORUltima Ratio Regis Massacre (2014)Rating: 8\/10 Formed in the late 90s by lead guitarist Blumi and drummer Witchhammer, Germany\u2019s Metal Inquisitor have plodded along steadily through the years, releasing a batch of decent albums best described as full on heavy metal. Although Witchhammer fled the nest in 2000, the band has been prolific when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-metal-inquisitor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17996"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17998,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17996\/revisions\/17998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}