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This is a re-release of Inquisition's 1998 debut put out by Hells Headbangers, completely remastered and polished up. As polished as a stinking black slab of evil like this can be, anyway. Recorded just as the Second Wave was receding in the Third World, Into the Infernal Regions of the Ancient Cult is about as primitive and old-school as it is possible to get.

The musical approach here kind of alternates between Hellhammer-style bashing and a slower, more melodic approach that is far more evocative of the tremolo songwriting that characterized Scandinavian Black Metal. Thus this is kind of a splicing of first and second-wave BM styles, and it works pretty damned well. The recording is pretty decent, with the remaster making everything a bit clearer while not losing the underground grit of the original. The vocals are likely going to be a sticking point for some, as they are...atypical. Dagon does not roar or shriek, but rather kind of mutters through the album – more like a croak here, more like intonation there. At first it sounds like a put on, and I was not sure I'd be able to get past the vocals and enjoy the music. But after a while I adjusted to the style and came to rather like it. It makes the whole thing sound kind of creepy and chant-like. I can see how maybe some people would not be able to get into it, as it is a weird approach, but I think it fits the music and makes this album sound a lot more unique than it would otherwise.

So this is an old-school classic getting a really nice polish and re-release from one of the labels most dedicated to the golden age of metal. Hells Headbangers spend a lot of time and cash unearthing relics like this, and sometimes they strike gold, like here. Fans of subterranean BM should line up for this one.