This Fat Guy's First Review Ever - Ultimatum's Into The Pit

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Upon first listen of the new album by Ultimatum, a newer fan of the band such as myself, will first notice a large improvement on production values on the new disc as compared to their earlier works. The vocals are in your face, the guitars invade you speakers and annihilate all in their way. The drums have a clean, authentic sound, and the bass guitar is audible and mixes well with the guitar work of Robert Gutierrez.

Below are some of my opinions on a few of the album tracks…….

The album begins with One For All. A mid to fast paced solid song that showcases vocalist Scott Waters’ voice perfectly.

Next up is Exonerate. A powerhouse of a song that sirs things up nicely early in the album and gets your blood pumping. The vocals are more aggressive on this track than anything I have heard from Ultimatum in the past, and I like it. J

By the time track number three rolls around on an album, the band usually showcases a more mellow song to give the listener a chance to catch their breath. So is not the case of Death Wish. Another brutal song that kicks your behind and doesn’t let up.

Blood Covenant. A typical Ultimatum song that is solid and power driven. This is the most melodic of them all so far. An awesome song all around. Plenty of meaty lead guitar breaks in this one.

Wrathchild. The classic Iron Maiden song Ultimatum-ized. Actually, this sounds as though it were recorded by the Once Dead era Vengeance Rising rather than a modern band in 2007. I am happy with this and you should be as well.

Transgressor is the album’s highlight in my opinion. An exciting song that makes me wish I had hair to head bang with. There is something about this song that seems more powerful than the other tracks on the album, and I find myself returning to this song more than the others.

Blind Faith has my favorite lyrics of all the songs and is my second favorite song. This is metal. Mid paced and heavy from front to back. Killer song.

Into The Pit. What an spectacular instrumental piece. Its nice to hear the great guitar work of Mr. Gutierrez exposed in all it’s glory. I’m not sure if he does all the guitar work on this song or not, but regardless this song is a treat to listen to. Also, are those keyboards I hear? J Awesome.

Over all, this album solidifies Ultimatum’s place among the heavy hitters of Christian metal history. Everything has fallen neatly into place on this album. I honestly can place them right up there with Deliverance and Vengeance Rising on the excellence scale. I truly hope these guys continue to produce solid music like the Into The Pit album for years to come.

Administrator Joined : 04 Jan 2007 Posts : 7814

Right on. Thanks for the review bro.

ult
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Metal master Age : 28 Joined : 30 Jan 2007 Posts : 821

Here's my review:

Overall Grade: 93/100

First off, I would like to say the production is the best so far. Scott's vocals have never sounded better. I like the deeper end than some of the
higher vocals he's employed in past albums. The riffs are terrific
and memorable and the heaviest I have heard from these guys. The drums
are also better than on the past albums, even though they used two
drummers. I think I like the new guy a bit better. I was a bit let down by
the drum sound of of the Mechanics album. The solos are great also. I
listened to the album in my head phones and it was cool to pick up on
the subtleties of the solos. The Iron Maiden cover is fine,
but nothing spectacular. It has the Ultimatum stamp on it, and I guess covering Maiden isn't the easiest task when trying to please their fans. I think Ultimatum should make it a tradition of putting a classic cover song on each new album. Now the title instrumental track reminded me a bit of
the early Metallica instrumentals, at the the beginning part at least.
I sort of enjoyed the Mutamitlu instrumental a tad bit more from the last full-length. Also, since I was familiar with some of the songs from the E.P., it was great to hear them at full throttle. What else can I say? I got the Overkill album a day after this, and I prefer listening to this more than the
Overkill. If that isn't a compliment, I don't know what it.

Administrator Joined : 04 Jan 2007 Posts : 7814

Vartan =

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Metal master Age : 28 Joined : 30 Jan 2007 Posts : 821

Administrator Joined : 04 Jan 2007 Posts : 7814

Hey Vartan,
Did you publish your review anywhere besides here?

ult
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Administrator Age : 39 Joined : 09 Jan 2007 Posts : 2874

Here's my review:

Ultimatum - Into The Pit

This album kicks ass. Go buy it!
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UNCLE SAXON'S CRAZY CD SELLOFF!

Administrator Joined : 04 Jan 2007 Posts : 7814

Heart of Metal Age : 19 Joined : 23 Jan 2007 Posts : 1435

Being quite unfamiliar with Ultimatum (I have a few mp3 samples that I downloaded off their website I think a while ago), I decided to check out the Myspace to see what the Into The Pit tracks were like. Got to say, I was very impressed. Production wise, the leap is phenomenal and all in all, it just seemed like some enjoyable thrash. I might have to look in to picking up the CD.
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Administrator Joined : 04 Jan 2007 Posts : 7814

Smindas,
Please do and let us know what you think when you get it. Let me know if you need any recommendations on where to purchase it.

ult

BTW, Saxon, I passed on your review to the record company in an email and I received an email back that said, "Very eloquent review! I agree!" LOL!
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Heart of Metal Age : 19 Joined : 23 Jan 2007 Posts : 1435

Ult, where would be the best place for me to order the CD from the UK? I think I'm probably safe in assuming you guys don't have a UK distributor, so an import is probably my best bet.
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Administrator Joined : 04 Jan 2007 Posts : 7814

There are a bunch of on-line stores in the UK (and Europe) selling our CD.

musicbuymail.com
www.soniccagerecords.com
hellionrecords.com
nordicmission.com (Norway)
talkingmusic.com (Sweden)
rockituprecords.com

Otherwise I'd suggest Amazon.com, CDBaby.com or buying it directly from us.

ult
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