Yes, boys and girls, it's time for a thread on the resident house band; ULTIMATUM!

I'll start this thread by introducing you to the humble beginnings of the band. Robert Gutierrez had already played in various local bands when he in 1987 started Angelic Force. The band was plagued with members coming and going, and the only stabile members were Robert himself and vocalist, Stacy Carerra. Other key members included, at one point or another, future Ultimatum players, Joey Anaya - Bass & Steve Trujillo - Guitars. Angelic Force put out one self titled full length album on cassette in 1988, and a 3 song demo in 1989. They disbanded shortly after.



Robert and Steve went on to start another band, the short lived Holy Sacrifice. Then, in 1992 they formed Ultimatum. At first Robert sang as well as playing guitars. But in early 1993 he recruited his friend, Scott Waters, as the bands vocalist. Mike Lynch then followed on drums.

Dude, Scott, you were skinny?

humble beginnings ... but this band turned into one of my favorites over time.

I like their use of abrasive and traditional thrash elements.

I've never heard the Angelic Force stuff before. Is that really Scott singing?

I also like Scott's shirt.

I like that first singer of Angelic Force. I was not familiar with them. Just Ultimatum.

He almost reminds me of Steven Patrick from Holy Soldier.

Angelic Force vocalist Stacy Carerra is a female. She still sings. I believe she is in Ultimatum's top 30 friends on MySpace.

Jesusandmetal23 wrote:

I've never heard the Angelic Force stuff before. Is that really Scott singing? I also like Scott's shirt.

I designed that shirt for VisionWear. It was one of their best sellers.
I actually still have a black denim jacket with that Salvation is Not
for Wimps design on it.

ult

I dont normally like 'Christian logo' t shirts, but that one is pretty cool.

'Fatal Delay' was Ultimatum's first recorded material. This 5 track demo cassette shows a rather different band than the power/thashers most people know them as. After a keyboard intro the first track ease in with a very clean guitar sound. When the main riff kicks in it's easier to hear what band you're listening to, as Robert really has a sound of his own. Scott, on the other hand, sound very different here. He sings using a cleaner voice, as opposed to the more abrasive styles heard on the bands albums. "Fatal Delay" and "Plea For Holiness" are the songs with most connetion to the Ultimatum sound we're all familiar with. And the band even re-recorded the title track for their first full-length album. "All I Need" was originally recorded by Angelic Force . Ultimatum's rerecorded version is the bands only attempt at a ballad.

Despite the band hating this demo, I've always really liked 'Fatal Delay'. The songs are catchy, and it was clear from the beginning that these guys were in it for the love of the music, as well as the message. Robert is also playing some of his most emotional solos on this demo.

It's a pretty decent demo. Not mindblowing or anything, but it's pretty damn solid. I like it.

Good demo.

Blech!

Casual Ultimatum fan. I've got most of their albums, but I ain't got Fatal Delay. From the sound of things, I guess I'm not missing much.

Fatal Delay was a case of a band rushing into the studio before we were really ready. Plea For Holiness is actually the first song I had ever written and the first song Robert and I had ever written together. Wickedness & Perdition was a song written by Robert before I was in the band. All I Need was a song that Robert brought with him from Angelic Force. His band Holy Sacrifice also use to play this ballad. The song Fatal Delay was the second song Robert and I wrote together. I actually still like this song, but I like the version on Symphonic better. It's more streamlined.

Rough but the talent shows.

Ulti-who now?

Nah, but seriously, I haven't heard this demo or the Angelic Force stuff so I can't comment yet. Wake me when you get to SYMPHONIC EXTREMITIES.

In late 1984 Ultimatum went back into the studio and recorded 5 new tracks for a second demo. Greg Dingess had now left the band, so they got a little help in the studio by Joey Anaya (Blood Justice). These 5 songs, together with a remix of "Fatal Delay", were pressed on 'Symphonic Extremeties by Ultimatum'. They soon decided against widespreading another cheapt demo tape, so only 50 of these puppies ever saw the light of day.

Instead the band decided to go for a full-length album, and once again they entered the studio. Another 5 songs were written and recorded. During these sessions they met Tom Michaels, who helped with the bass-parts on the remaining 5 songs. The final result, 'Symphonic Extremeties', was released later in 1995.



Ultimatum's first full-length saw a band in transition. The ball opens with a ferocious Robert-riff, so the thrash metal side of the band was now in bloom. And many of the other songs feature a much more aggresive style then the 'Fatal Delay' demo. Still, I'd argue that the brotherpart of this album has more in common with the demo, than the albums that were to come. Songs like "The Grip", "The Killing Fields" and "Black Light" are more power metal than speedy thrash. But that was sort of the whole point, right? Ultimatum never claimed to be a full fledged thrash band. They labeled themselves metal, and rightly so.

I always loved this album, and think it holds many of the strongest moments in the bands catalogue. And after Retroactive Records remastered and reissued it in 2007, it is now possible to listen to it with acceptable sound quality also. I own all 3 versions of this album, the self-released 1995 cassette version, the 1997 Juke Box Media version, with bonus track, and the 2007 Retroactive reissue.

I still love the title track, Darkest Void and Blink. Fatal Delay is better on here than on the demo IMO. I also like The Grip. It's a more melodic song for us, but it works ok. World of Sin was a concert staple for us for years. We ALWAYS played that song, then one day it fell off the playlist and we haven't played it again since. Good song. Has a bit of a Thin Lizzy vibe in parts IMO.

I'm still fairly new to SYMPHONIC EXTREMITIES as I only got it from CDBaby about a year ago. But of the three Ult CDs I own so far I think it's my fave (though MECHANICS OF PERILOUS TIMES, another recent purchase, is closing the gap pretty quickly of late!). I'd say "Blink" would be my favorite track, followed by "Darkest Void." I don't have the disc handy to give it a quick spin so maybe I'll comment more once I've had a chance to listen to it again.

I really dig the album cover. I am planning on getting it blown up to poster size, eventually. The tile track

Great album! I think this is my overall 3rd favorite Ultimatum album!!!

A great album that was a huge leap forward for the band. These guys define what metal is about: energy, intensity and are ferocious at times.

Hey, I didnt even know there was an Ultimatum thread.

Fatal Delay Demo: Ive only heard this about 3 times and it's been a few years so I dont remember much other than it was nothing like future releases by them. Still, every band had humble beginnings and demos that they arent very proud of and this would fall into that catagory.

Symphonic: Ive not heard the remastered 2007 version and Ive heard it is great (is that youtube clip the remastered version of "World Of Sin"?). Anyway, I didnt know for about a year that this album was actually two demos put together. That changed my view of it (in a better way) as I realized how much these guys had grown musically and made me appriciate their next album more (seeing how it would be their first true first album). Not alot of bands around 1995 were making old school fist-pumping heavy metal so this was refreshing. When I first heard Ultimatum I was into mostly christian metal only so it was great to hear music like this that was heavy and also a killer message as well. I gotta break this album out again.....

Cool disc. Haven't listened to it for a while now, but I really liked it when I first heard it. Standouts were the title track and Blink.

Symphonic is a pretty good album. A little rough around the edges, but that's what makes it so much fun to listen to.