Inquisitor – Walpurgis – Sabbath of Lust

Damn it, these guys screwed up our whole system of article titles.  See, we start with the band name and then a dash, followed by album title.  So when the album title contains a dash within its boundaries we are doomed to looking like we’re reviewing a three-way split.  So, just for clarification, this is one album. two discs, one band, that band being Inquisitor, a thrash outfit from the Netherlands that formed after splintering off of a little-known, and less harsh band called Desultory in the early 1990s, who following their creation of Inquisitor split, and then recently reformed with the original line-up and Walpurgis – Sabbath of Lust repressed in 2014, but with so many goodies you’re going to freak.  You’re going to go Satanist even if you’re a Cardinal with years of service in the Church.  If you’re interested in more background about why this remastered album is so important, the label that released it, Hammerheart Records, has an excellent bio up on their main site that’s sure to please all of your thrash-knowledge requirements.  Take a read via that link, there’s no need for us to reiterate, because what we’re here about is what’s to be found in this mammoth, remastered, double-CD package.

  
 

So, technically, what you’re getting here isn’t merely the one album you see above, there are two to consider.  Walpurgis – Sabbath of Lust was originally released in 1996 as the only full-length the band ever put to plastic.  So, first consideration, this is the essence of retro, as it’s coming right around the beginning of second-wave, original thrash, not in the past ten years with all of this “retro” stuff that is actually more like “antiquarianistic thrash”.  We’re talking the actual 1990s here, right around the time when things moved away from singing about puppets to Satan having sex with multiple partners who turned out to be everyone in your family.  As soon as the vocals begin at the very start of this one you know everything is over.  For something from an era where some of our readers may not have even been born, or were too young to recognize its greatness without parents cool enough, Inquisitor’s sound has aged incredibly well.  The remastering process brought out more of the intricacies lost in the original cut, but it’s largely retained the basic quality without turning it into digital trash; grinding guitars and bass, drums on speed, and vocals that scream and wail like a witch in flames.

 

But, hey, there are two things to listen to in this package, friends.  Walpurgis is followed by a remastered collection of demo material simply referred to as The Demos, consisting of work from two demos they released in 1992 and 93.  Here is where the remastering plays a more important role.  You’re going to hear Inquisitor in an early phase before their first and only release, but after an awesome sample of religious blasphemy, you’ll find the same overall presence of the previous disc, meaning that whoever took the time to do this did an excellent job giving a sense of balance to all of it, because let’s face it, the word “demo” from this time period can come with the expectation of something so absolutely raw it’s going to be relevant to only the most obsessed of fans.  Here, however, it’s been made so accessible that in spite of some minor differences in sound quality, like the snare for example, it’s still recognizable as Inquisitor as they are, completely Satanic and menacing.  In terms of complaints, it’s difficult to have any for such an important project musically, conceptually, and historically.  This comes at the perfect time period when some of the imagery is going to be less shocking to a larger number of people, which gives these guys more of an ability to spread.  The only real issue is that, at times, the vocals with their mocking laughter and other tricks sometimes come off as comical, but these moments are brief.  So there’s that, and then there’s the sheer immensity of this package.  There’s so much thrash here you’re going to be puking it back up before you’re halfway through.  So, if anything, it’s almost too much, but for that we cannot fault it entirely.  Just expect to let this one stew in your head for a good two weeks before you’ve properly finished it.

 

Inquisitor Official Facebook

Written by Stanley Stepanic

Inquisitor – Walpurgis – Sabbath of Lust (Remastered)
Hammerheart Records
4.5 / 5