Ultimatum
Into the Pit Retroactive Records

by Matthew Hoffman
Staff Writer

Comments: Ultimatum is an American Christian Thrash metal band formed in 1992 by guitarist Robert Gutierrez. But don’t let the fact that these boys believe in Christ lead you astray, they also produce tremendous heavy metal music. Their fourth full length disc Into the Pit is out now on Retroactive Records.

The CD starts out with punishing riffs, then a nice “dark” melody line jumps in and “One for All” sets the formidable tone. There is nothing new or highly technical here just in your face classic thrash metal played the way it should be. The axe solo leaps out and gives the guitar head a taste of pure speed as Robert Gutierrez splays the fret board with a serious madness. Scott Waters brings a harsher and more shrill style ala Overkill’s “Bobby Blitz” Ellsworth as well as a few death styled vocals too.

The next song is “Exonerate” and is a weird mix of thrash that reminds of older Suicidal Tendencies mixed with a bit of death metal.

“Deathwish” has thunderous riffs from Gutierrez a deep bass line from Rob Whitlock as its calling cards. Waters almost resembles Jeff Walker of Carcass with his gravelly vocals especially the way Waters sings “Deaaaaathwish” in the songs chorus’s. The solo here is classic death metal and is not far off of the dark quality of James Murphy during his Obituary days.

On the next song “Blood Covenant” Gutierrez is special on axe as he plays 2 or three excellent leads in the first 100 seconds of the song alone.

“Heart of Metal” sees heavy treacherous riffs again but this time they are matched with outstanding double bass line leads from drummer Alan Tuma. Seeing this talent almost makes the CD seem disappointing as you realize they had the talent to bring it more technically if they’d wanted to. That feeling quickly dissipates as Guitierrez hits you with a distortion filled solo that blends right into the melody and Whitlock kicks you in the teeth with more nasty bass notes.

Those bass notes jump to the forefront on the next cut “Wrathchild” an Iron Maiden cover. Obviously the critique here is the vocals of Waters are not going to measure close to Dickinson’s but Gutierrez saves the day again with his clear talent, more than matching the Maiden guitar sections.

Speaking of NWOBHM axe wielders, the next cut “Transgressors” is very reminiscent of the solo playing ability of Judas Priest’s Glenn Tipton. His chops and fret work are furious yet clean and pure.

The album's title track is a mellow and docile instrumental featuring pretty single notes and deep bass tones. It hits a near George Lynch ballad solo feel when Gutierrez grabs it by the throat and slices it up.

Lyrics like “It’s time to wake up before you lose” in “Game Over” are their attempt to save souls.

The act that they are Christians only adds to their appeal as that contingent has been hoping to have a viable option to bang their heads to for years and years.

Well folks you get the picture, this is a solid band with an exceptional guitarist that seems to have taken the formula for successful heavier ‘80s metal genres and decided to create the ultimate pure metal album, no more no less.

Band Members:
Scott Waters-Vocals
Robert Gutierrez-Guitar
Rob Whitlock-Bass
Alan Tuma-Drums

Track listing:
1. One for All
2. Exonerate
3. Deathwish
4. Blood Covenant
5. Heart of Metal
6. Wrathchild (Iron Maiden Cover)
7. Transgressor
8. Blink
9. Blind Faith
10. Into the Pit (Instrumental)
11. Game Over

HRH rating: 8.3/10