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Obituary - Xecutioner's Return review




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Reviewer:
9.0

230 users:
7.28
Band: Obituary
Album: Xecutioner's Return
Release date: August 2007


01. Face Your God
02. Lasting Presence
03. Evil Ways
04. Drop Dead
05. Bloodshot
06. Seal Your Fate
07. Feel The Pain
08. Contrast The Dead
09. Second Chance
10. Lies
11. In Your Head
12. Executioner Returns [boxset bonus]

People had already lost their interest on one of the most courageous bands in Death Metal history... Obituary, then 15 years later "Frozen In Time" came up and people again turned their heads while leaving towards the sunset, the band gave us something to praise about, something that made us sit and listen while waiting for something insanely spectacular to come; now it's "Xecutioner's Return" what sweeps us back to the old school days where Death Metal was fearless and utterly powerful, the record is everything we hoped since 1992 and I still can't believe my ears.

On most parts this album definately makes it up for every single piece Obituary released after "Cause Of Death", on the other segments the band delivers a modern side of their metal assault, the catchy riffs and streched atmospheres show an interesting and original ensemble breaking and crushing some bones with a very aggressive touch in their mix. So yes, it's all about old school, but it still manages to kill and slaughter the contemporary bands of today?it's just fucking perfect that's what it is.

Now let's just jump to the inconfortable side of things, Allen West. We are all crying about his departure that's for sure, he was an incredible guitarist, he carried with the Obituary name for a really long time?now Ralph Santolla came here to make things better, it seems everything he touches turns to gold (Remember what he did with the last Deicide album¨?) all his solos are face-melters, it's just an incredible piece of work what we hear inside this record, too bad the overall sound feels like canned, the production didn't break my neck but it's something that adds an "oldies but goldies" vibe in the CD.

"Xecutioner's Return" makes me wonder if we're not in 1992, it's just that good, it even has that old sense of balance, while some tracks like "Evil Ways" (Which is the best Obituary song I've heard EVER) creates a lot of tension with its brutality, "In Your Head" will melow things down a notch in a very "Slowly We Rot" way. The collection of riffs in this disc is more than memorable, the band delivers wave after wave of killer structures and the most catchy scales the band has put out to date.

2007 has been a really bland year in Death Metal, so it's maybe not that much to say this is the best death metal album this year; though one thing is for sure, whether be 2007 or 1989 this is by far the best [b]Obituary[b/] record in Metal history; sit tight and wait until it gets released, you're in for one hell of a blast from the past.

Best Tracks: "Evil Ways", "Feel The Pain", "Drop Dead"


Rating breakdown
Performance: 10
Songwriting: 10
Originality: 8
Production: 7

Written by Herzebeth | 14.08.2007




Comments page 2 / 2

Comments: 36   Visited by: 185 users
21.08.2009 - 23:28
Maxx666
Meshuggahian
Awesome band,awesome album,awesome review,awesome everything!! And the album is so fucking awesome:banger2:
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22.07.2010 - 02:40
JD
Account deleted
I have a t-shirt for this album cover, Xecutioner's Return amazing!
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22.07.2010 - 15:13
Rating: 7
vezzy
Stallmanite
This was way better than Darkest Day.
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22.06.2012 - 21:58
Rating: 4
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
Very lame album
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14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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23.06.2012 - 00:00
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Written by Boxcar Willy on 22.06.2012 at 21:58
Very lame album

To nobody's surprise.
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"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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23.06.2012 - 00:07
Rating: 4
Boxcar Willy
yr a kook
Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.06.2012 at 00:00

Written by Boxcar Willy on 22.06.2012 at 21:58
Very lame album

To nobody's surprise.

I listened to it yesterday whilst doing the dishes, and was bored before the first song even ended.

the entire thing was pretty much: Chug->melodic lead->warn out vocals->chug->melodic lead outro
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14:22 - Marcel Hubregtse
I do your mum

DESTROY DRUM TRIGGERS
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