American power thrash from New Mexico formed by guitarist Robert Gutierrez and Steve Trujillo in 1992 from the ashes of their band Holy Sacrifice. Steve remained in the group until 2004, when he was replaced by Augustine Ortiz (ex-the Seventh Circle). Drummer Sean Griego joined the band in 1995 and remains with the band as of 2006. Ultimatum have gone through many bassists, including Greg Dingess, who recorded on the band "Fatal Delay" demo. and Tom Micheals (Seventhsign) who recorded on the band's first three full length CDs. Rob Whitlock joined the band in the Summer of 2002 and remained with the band as of 2006 and was recording on their fourth CD. During the recording long time drummer Sean Griego was replaced by new drummer Alan Tuma (ex-Moshketeers). "Into the Pit" was released in Oct. 2007.

I have mixed feelings about this CD. Songs like "Darkest Void" and "Blink" are all metal classics, and the title track is still one of my all time favorite songs. We still pull all these songs out and play them live. However, compared to the albums to follow this one doesn't hold water, mostly due to the weak production. I have long wanted to see "Blink" and "Symphonic Extremties" re-recorded with a better production and Sean Griego behind the kit. His double bassing and aggressive style would fit this song a bit better than Mike Lynch, who actually played on this song despite the fact that Sean is listed and pictured on the CD insert. Favorite tracks are: "Symphonic Extremities", "Killing Fields", "Darkest Void" and "Blink". I also have always liked the lyrics to "The Grip." Always thought this song would be a really cool "unplugged" track.

What most people don't know is that this album is really just a compilation of two demos. We were unhappy with their 1993 demo "Fatal Delay" so we went into the studio in early 1994 and recorded a five song demo tape titled "Symphonic Extremities by Ultimatum". Only about 50 copies were ever pressed and sent out to various record labels and magazines for review. (These demo tapes are extremely rare! I don't even have one.) After that we recorded a second five song demo that was never released. Instead we compiled the two demos and released an independent ten song cassette tape also titled "Symphonic Extremeties". The tape sold so well that Juke Box Media, a small independent record company, decided to pick it up and release it on CD. However they released it as is, in it's raw demo form with no mastering or remixing. Juke Box Media didn't have the money to have us go into the studio and re-record the songs, so they put the demos together along with the bonus track and released it as is. So, "Symphonic Extremities" was never properly recorded. At the time, we were just excited to get something out on CD. The CD did well for us and even managed to get onto the Hard Music Charts in the CCM circuit. The label initially pressed 1,000 copies, which quickly sold out. Soon after they pressed another 1,000 copies which also quickly sold out. We thought this wasn't too shabby considering the label didn't really have any distribution. They sold mostly through on-line networks and through magazine adds. Unfortunately, Juke Box Media went out of business and into obscurity, quickly making this disc increasingly harder to find. It now sells on eBay for around $30 or more.

I should also mention that it was the label's idea to put the little yellow band on the front cover that says "Includes bonus track mixed by Rex Carroll." I protested over this since I designed the cover, but the label thought it would sell more copies.

2007 REISSUE BONUS TRACKS
Symphonic Extremities had been out of print for nearly a decade. The original CD pressing was only around 2000 copies, so when a copy showed up on Ebay, they usually sold for over $30. I saw one copy sell for $47. In 2007 Retroactive Records re-release "Symphonic" with remastered sound and a 6-page, color booklet. Despite the fact that the original recordings were raw to begin with, the sound is certainly improved here. The reissue also includes three bonus tracks. "Wickedness & Perdition" and "Fatal Delay" are both taken from the 1993 "Fatal Delay" demo tape. The original intro to "Wickedness & Perdition" is also included. The album version of "Fatal Delay" is nearly a minute and a half shorter than the demo version. After releasing the demo we realized that some parts of the song were just too drawn out and shortened it, especially the bridge in the middle of the song. The live version of "Blink" includes a impromptu version of "Wrathchild" (Iron Maiden) towards the end of the song. The song was recorded at the Up From the Ashes II festival in California in 2006. I remember it being an incredibly hot and sweaty day that day. We put on a very energetic set and this was the last song in the set. We were all wrecked on stage, but were having a blast. I think that comes across in the song, despite the fact that the vocals sound a little warn, which they were. The cover is very similar to the original release but deletes the silly yellow strip on the lower left hand corner and add the tilted Ultimatum logo, rather than the straight one on the original. The insert includes a short write-up by yours truly.

A rough demo mix of "World of Sin" appears on the "Massive Frequencly Overload" compilation.

Click here to see a picture of Ultimatum with Steve Rowe(Mortification) from their gig at Spotlights, Albuquerque, NM. 1997. Click to see Rowe Productions promo photo.

A remixed version of "Never" with newly recorded bass and beefier guitar tones appears on Dwell's "2000: A Second Coming" compilation.

Ultimatum - The Mechanics of Perilous Times (Gutter/Massacre) 2001
Ultimatum - Mechanics of Perilous Times (Retroactive) 2007

It's been a long time since Ultimatum has released a new studio album. While we as a band had been busy over the years performing and writing new material, many things have gotten in the way of actually recording a new CD, including member changes, label changes, and personal issues within the band. Finally in 2004 we began recording a new demo to shop around to labels. A rough, raw version of "Heart of Metal" was recorded and saw release on an obscure compilation CD. We weren't really happy with that recording so the search began for a more professional studio to record a proper demo. Well, the four songs represented here were the result of that recording session. We sent the demo out to several labels and eventually received a few offers from some independent labels. In the meantime we began recording our full length CD. However, since that wouldn't be released for some time, we decided to release the demo cuts for our patient fans and friends, especially since we have been playing these songs live for years. "Heart of Metal" is still among my favorite songs to perform. It is a metal anthem to the highest degree and demands that the audience shout along to the chorus, which they usually do. The lyrics are a bit cheesy, but this was done on purpose. This song is just fun, and that's all it was meant to be. "One For All", "Deathwish" and "Blind Faith" are more serious songs, clearly expressing our faith. In my completely unbiased and totally objective opinion, these are some of the finest tracks that Ultimatum has released to date. The guitar work is stellar. Robert Gutierrez and Steve Trujillo both pulled out some of their finest lead work for these tracks. These recordings also mark the first recordings with bassist Rob Whitlock, whose signature style is heard throughout. Unfortunately this would be the last recorded work for Steve Trujillo with Ultimatum as he left the band shortly after it was released. All these tracks will most likely be on "Into the Pit" in '07, however the will most likely be re-recorded and feature new lead work by Robert and Augustine Ortiz. I am very proud of the bonus tracks. "Sins of Omission" is a Testament cover that we recorded in 2000 for a tribute CD for the now defunct Dwell Records. We took some liberties with the song, but I think the original feel of the song is still very much in tact. Steve performed all the leads on this song. I particularly like the way the vocals came out on this song. The last track was recorded at a club called the Chain Reaction in Anaheim, CA. It was recorded in 2004 and is a warts and all recording. There are no overdubs to fix the rubs. This is live and the way you would have heard it if you were there that hot August night.

Only 300 copies of "...'til the End!" were released. All 300 of them are numbered and hand signed by the band. Mine is 199/300.

Ultimatum - Into the Pit (Retroactive) 2007 1. "One For All" (5:24) 2. "Exonerate" (3:42) 3. "Deathwish" (5:51) 4. "Blood Covenant" (3:21) 5. "Heart of Metal" (4:40) 6. "Wrathchild" (2:53) 7. "Transgressor" (3:20) 8. "Blink" (2:43) 9. "Blind Faith" (4:20) 10. "Into the Pit" [instrumental] (3:08) 11. "Game Over" (5:18)

Scott Waters & Robert Gutierrez, Sept. 2007 @ Cornerstone California

I am very proud of this album. It's been a long time coming and we went through a lot of changes in the years since "Mechanics of Perilous Times" was released, including the loss of original member Steve Trujillo, as well as longtime drummer Sean Griego. However, founding member and guitarist Robert Gutierrez really stepped things up on this one. His guitar playing is outstanding. His rhythm work is tight and his solos are certainly some of his best. I can't imagine any Ultimatum fan being disappointed with this one. However, I really hope that the stepped up production will draw in some new fans as well. The CD has eleven songs. We had actually written one or two more that didn't make the album. I am super psyched about the new version of "Blink". I love this song. We've been playing it live practically since we wrote it back in 1995 and I have always wanted to record it with Sean Griego's double bass assault. The version on "Symphonic" was nothing more than a demo and really didn't capture the energy and aggression of that song. The new version annihilates! Augustine Ortiz played the guitar solo on the song and it's just jaw dropping awesome. We made some minor changes to the song, but overall, stuck to the original composition. The four songs off the "...til the End!" EP also made the album. All four were basically re-recorded. "Blind Faith" went under the blade slightly. I like the newer version better. The solo section is much better in my opinion. "One For All" and "Deathwish" were completely re-recorded with our new drummer Alan Tuma. Sean had recorded on the EP cuts. However, the songs aren't really all that different. On the EP version of "One For All", Steve Trujillo and Robert traded off leads. On the "Into the Pit "version, Augustine recorded new and different guitar solos over Steve's, whereas Robert's leads are nearly identical. Other than some differences between Sean and Alan in style, "Deathwish" wasn't really messed with. We even kept Steve Trujillo's guitar solo in the later half of the song as we really liked it and felt it fit the song well. "Heart of Metal" is also nearly identical to the EP version, with a bit more bite in the guitars and better sounding drums. We recorded our version of Iron Maiden's "Wrathchild". While we stuck close to the original composition, we changed things slightly to make the song our own. You can really hear the difference as soon as the bass and drums start at the beginning of the song. I like the way it came out, especially the scream in the middle. It's a layered scream. I did one lower register scream then in the middle went for the helium high shriek. It came out very cool, and very different from what Paul DiAnno did. Probably my favorite songs on the album are "Exonerate" which is a full out thrash song, "Blood Covenant" and album closer "Game Over". "Game Over" is the first song since "Puppet of Destruction" that features Robert doing some lyric writing. He wrote the basis of the song then I went in and changed things around and came up with the vocal melodies and added the chorus. It's a great song to close the album with. I'm really happy with the vocals on this album. They are raw, throaty and thrashy. Each song has it's own unique sound and style. Being that the album was recorded over a long period of time, I think it gave me a chance to really work out some of the vocals and melodies. Whereas on "Heart of Metal" the vocals are a bit more melodic, on a song like "Exonerate", the vocals are very rough and thrashy. On that particular song I was inspired by Sadus. I also used some deeper, almost death metal-like growls here and there for emphasis on some songs. Just about all the vocals, screams, growls, grunts and groans are done by me without the use of any effects, other than the minor reverb or delay here and there.

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