Ultimatum claim to be “the masters of thrash metal” which is a pretty bold claim by any standards. I'm sure that many of you have your own opinion on which band, past or present, would be more fitting of such a  description and I'm fairly confident when I say that not one of you will have thought of putting Ultimatum into the same exalted company. The only way that Ultimatum would have been able to claim such lofty status would have been if there were no other thrash metal releases between the years 1985 to 1987, given that it was this period that formed the touchstone from which Ultimatum have pretty much forged their entire sound. 

This may appear harsh and, bearing in mind the fact that the band have existed in one form or another for 16 years, it's fair to say they're not just jumping on the coat-tails of the current wave of classic thrash influenced acts. But that's no excuse for wanting so badly to sound like a band from the San Francisco Bay Area from about 23 years ago. Even the song titles seem to have been borrowed, aside from the cover of Iron Maidens “Wrathchild” there's at least four on Into The Pit that have been used before, and this is before we get to play the inevitable game of spot the riff. The worst offender here on that score is “Deathwish” which has lifted its entire chorus from Exodus' “Brain Dead” even down to the vocal phrasing, really.  

Then we get the obligatory instrumental “Into The Pit” which doesn't really convey any real atmosphere or dynamics, and don't get me started on the wholesale lifting of various Metallica trademarks on this track as well. By the time it started to sound like “One” I really thought they were attempting some poorly executed Metallica musical motif medley. 

You would be forgiven for thinking that I really didn't like this album given the overall tone of the preceding few paragraphs, but you'd be wrong. The first half of it is decent enough, up to and including the reasonable rendition of “Wrathchild” but I can't gloss over the fact that this record has nothing new to offer even for fans of the genre, of which I would count myself one. Therefore by the time “Game Over” plays out, sadly not a cover of the Nuclear Assault instrumental,  there's just not that much incentive to go back “Into The Pit”.

Let us know your views on Into The Pit

Track Listing

One For All
Exonerate
Deathwish
Blood Covenant
Heart Of Metal
Wrathchild
Transgressor
Blink
Blind Faith
Into The Pit
Game Over

Line Up

Robert Gutierrez - Guitars
Scott Waters - Vocals
Rob Whitlock - Bass
Justin Frear - Guitars
Alan Tuma - Drums