Nefarious Dismal Orations

Inquisition are Colombia's most revered and respected Black Metal band, and one of the most important bands to ever come out of South America, having released nothing but top quality Black Metal for the last 15 years of their existence. That said, Inquisition's members are originally from the United States, with singer and guitarist Dagon forming the band upon moving to Colombia in 1988, and current drummer Incubus joining the band in 1996 when Dagon returned to the U.S.

Inquisition's 2007 album Nefarious Dismal Orations sounds exactly as the album's name and opening track's title would have you imagine: dismal, nefarious, ancient, monumental, but above all, crushing. Inquisition prove once again that not only are they unique at what they do, they also excel at it. This time around they have opted for a slightly cleaner production in comparison to their previous releases, but while this would normally detract from almost any traditional Black Metal album, here it only enhances the overall feeling of apocalyptic grandeur driven forwards by Dagon's trademark addictive riffs and abyssic vocals.

During the album's opening segment, the listener is greeted with a brief but brilliant infernal choir, which is made even more memorable due to it bearing a moderate resemblance to the distinct soundtracks Ennio Morricone produced for countless spaghetti westerns, before plunging headfirst into the abyss that is the remainder of the album's first track, "Ancient Monumental War Hymn".

From this moment onwards, as with all of Inquisition's albums, Nefarious Dismal Orations is filled to the brim with heavier-than-lead guitars, Dagon's hypnotic monotone vocals, and last but definately not least, Incubus' sublime drumming that just fits perfectly in place throughout, both fast and slow sections alike. There is absolutely zero filler on this album, it's 100% pure guitar-driven annihilating Black Metal every step of the way, but for all the monumental destruction that Nefarious Dismal Orations brings forth, there are many moments where the relentless drumming subsides and gives way to some slower and heavier but equally memorable riffs.

There isn't that much more that can be said about Inquisition's music that hasn't been said already, as they produce a surprisingly unique blend of Black Metal that is pretty much beyond comparison. I won't do a song-by-song description of the album either because my vocabulary is just too limited to express what makes them so good. In other words, it has to be heard in order to be understood.

If you have not yet had the chance to hear Inquisition's unique approach to Black Metal, then you really don't know what you're missing out on. Nefarious Dismal Orations is the perfect place to start, but you will be so impressed and awe-struck that you will find yourself checking out every other Inquisition album even before the first track on Nefarious Dismal Orations is over. Be warned, for once you discover what Inquisition has to offer, you may not want to listen to any other band's music for some time.

Inquisition are one of a kind, because for some mysterious reason no other band that I know of has ever tried the same take on Black Metal as they have, although it's possibly due to nobody daring to venture into the lands where Inquitision are already king.

What other albums sound similar to this?

I'm afraid that you have a pretty limited choice if you are seeking similar sounding albums to Nefarious Dismal Orations because, as I have already repeated several times before, no other band sounds quite like Inquisition does. Their unique combination of crushing riffs and atmosphere, complimented by the perfect drumming and monotone vocals can really only be found on other Inquisition albums, but fortunately they have so far released a total of 5 full length studio recordings, each one with a slightly different approach to Inquisition's winning formula. To begin with, try their most recent masterpiece Ominous Doctrines Of The Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm, and also be sure to check out their 2002 classic Invoking The Majestic Throne Of Satan.

As far as other bands go, maybe only Immortal, with Abbath's similar vocal style and their emphasis on riff-driven Black Metal can be compared, so try their At The Heart Of Winter and Sons Of Northern Darkness albums before investigating further. If you do happen to know of any other bands who's music sounds similar to Nefarious Dismal Orations, please let us know!

In a nutshell...

Inquisition's Nefarious Dismal Orations is in our opinion their greatest and most addictive album to date, with a mind-blowing journey from the opening choir to the final pulverizing riff, although it should really be left up to the listener to decide which is Inquisition's greatest album because, as has been stated already, each of their albums has a slightly different approach to their unique formula of Black Metal, and therefore each of their albums could easily be regarded as their greatest ever.