Panopticon

Germany’s Metal Inquisitor dished out five albums of quality old school steel before calling it a day, with 2019’s ‘Panopticon’ being their final strike, and while I’ve enjoyed everything this band have done, I have to admit this is the weakest of their releases, but only because of how it stacks up against pure poser killers like ‘Doomsday For The Heretic’ and ‘Ultima Ratio Regis’, their best one ever. Following an album as cool as ‘Ultima’ was a tough call, as that one had everything we love about our coveted genre tossed into one boiling pot of pure razor-edged riffage, so where was there to go after that? They opted for a much cleaner production on ‘Panopticon’ and that was a blessing and a curse, as while it made for a much sharper attack, it also took away some of their dusty old school cred, and as a consequence this one sounds more like any old revivalist metal band putting on denim and leather for a bit of 80s nostalgia than the real deal we know Metal Inquisitor to be.

Not to say there are bad tunes on this, because there aren’t, really. ‘Free Fire Zone’ kicks things off in grand style, with twiddling twin guitar harmonies and blasting percussion, laced with El Rojo’s reedy Mark Shelton-styled wail, and it’s an absolute banger, as is ‘Change Of Front’, which is so much like an old Saxon tune it could’ve come off of ‘Strong Arm Of The Law’. The cleaner guitar tone, though, gives things a more commercial, accessible feel that brings their Thin Lizzy stylings to the fore a bit more when they are doing their duel-harmony thing, and brings some of the later Slough Feg albums to mind for that reason. It’s too clean for a band that blasted their way through the screaming speed metal assault of ‘Ultima Ratio Regis’. What’s sort of frustrating is that El Rojo never sounded stronger as a singer than he does here, and makes great choruses out of ‘Beyond Nightmares’ and ‘Scent Of Fear’. Maybe things were starting to feel a bit weary in the ranks as the songwriting it a bit stale here compared to its predecessors. It doesn’t mix up early thrash and USPM with NWOBHM as much as ‘Ultima Ratio Regis’ did; it’s more just a straight Maiden/Saxon attack, which is perfectly fine, and if this was the first Metal Inquisitor album you heard, you’d think it was killer shit all the way. But what they did on the previous album made for such a wild time, whereas this one is just 80s metal doing its thing without really innovating or mixing genres the way the last one did.

In spite of all this, the one bright, shining moment of glory on ‘Panopticon’ comes with the fucking amazing slayage of ‘Re-Sworn The Oath’, which is one of the very best tunes this band ever did. This one sounds like all the coolest shit off of ‘Ultima’ rolled into one, with a fucking killer harmonized gallop and a snarling Metal Church vocal attack that is pure USPM with a slick power metal lead under the chorus. Then out of nowhere half way through, they toss us into a maelstrom of blistering Omen-styled riff work and sweeping solos that just grab you by the short hairs and won’t let the fuck go. It’s such a great song I wish the whole album sounded like it, but sadly, most of ‘Panopticon’ is Metal Inquisitor on autopilot, not having half as much fun as they did on their last album, and it’s plain for all to see. Old school metal fiends need to hear this band, no question, and it’s sad they aren’t around anymore, but go for ‘Ultima Ratio Regis’ and ‘Doomsday’ over this. This is still a headbanging good time, but it’s not up to the drill compared to their other monstrous assaults.