Inquisition

Forming in Cali, Colombia in 1988 as extreme thrash band Guillotina, INQUISITION has since come to be associated with the American scene. Spearheaded by the dark mastermind known as Dagon, Inquisition is now known throughout the world as a truly cult black metal band.

Before changing their name to Inquisition in 1989, Guillotina's Sodom-influenced brand of thrash was already beginning to make waves in the South American underground. Within a year of forming, for example, they had opened for legendary fellow Colombians Reencarnación.

Title track from 1990's Anxious Death

In 1990, they put out the Anxious Death EP, which showcased their early thrash sound. The influence of the German scene can clearly be heard on this release. Inquisition would labor a few more years in the underground in this vein, putting out a 1993 demo, Forever Under.

The years 1994-1996 were a time of immense transition for Inquisition. This was the time where Dagon admits he began to grow weary of the thrash scene, and he answered the call of black metal. He has said in interviews that the sound of extreme metal was what appealed to him, and that he sought more and more extremity in terms of types of sounds. This lead him to eventually arrive at the conclusion that black metal was where his creative energy belonged. By 1996, Inquisition's new black metal sound could be heard on the Incense of Rest EP and on a split with Brazilian band Profane Creation. This was also the time when Inquisition chose to re-locate to the Pacific Northwest of the United States (the land of Dagon's birth). Dagon also met and recruited musician Incubus, who has been his co-collaborator in Inquisition as well as the drummer for that band ever since.

Newly invigorated with fresh blood, Inquisition took the world by storm with their first full-length studio album, 1998's Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult. This album--along with Inquisition's sound in general--is the very definition of cult. Relying on brutally heavy riffing that clearly draws on Dagon's thrash background, demonic growled vocals that call to mind Attila's best performances with Mayhem, and occultic/Satanic lyrical themes that feel more authentic than most almost any other black metal band out there, Inquisition stands alone in a genre that spawns clones and imitators galore. Inquisition has continued to consistently release brilliant, brutal black metal in the ensuing years. You know what to expect with an Inquisition album--and you get it every time!

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"Empire of Luciferian Race" is off of Inquisition's debut album

From their 2002 album Invoking the Majestic Throne of Satan, this is "Enshrouded by the Cryptic Temples of the Cult"

"Master of the Cosmological Black Cauldron" is a more recent offering (from 2013's Obscure Verse for the Multiverse)

Despite being one of underground black metal's most consistent bands, recent years have brought problems to Inquisition. It came to light in 2018 that Dagon faced charges of possession of child pornography back in 2009. Although Dagon did plead down to lesser charges, Inquisition has faced enormous backlash since then. Record labels, fans, and concert promoters have turned their back on this band. Will there be redemption? Or is Inquisition's time in the sun over? Only time will tell.

Select Discography:

Anxious Death EP (1990)

Forever Under (demo) (1993)

Incense of Rest EP (1996)

Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult (full-length) (1998)

Invoking the Majestic Throne of Satan (full-length) (2002)

Magnificent Glorification of Lucifer (full-length) (2004)

Nefarious Dismal Orations (full-length) (2007)

Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm (full-length) (2010)

Obscure Verses for the Multiverse (full-length) (2013)

Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith (full-length) (2016)

Next time: DEVISER