Exxxekutioner - Fear The Priest
Exxxekutioner, lifelong holders of the "most awkward band name I've ever typed" title, didn't quite manage to hit the mark with their first demo last year. The music was solid and lovingly crafted, but it was ultimately let down by the fact that it was recorded on a cassette deck, and as such bore production (I use that word loosely) so bad that it almost ruined the entire experience. But now they're back with a new EP, and not only have the band improved upon their songwriting, but they've even discovered and thoroughly utilised the wonders of stereo recording as well! They mean business this time, folks!
Fear the Priest isn't a great deal more than a simple continuation of the band's previous demo, which is probably the source of it's charm. Exxxekutioner are one of very, very few bands in the UK thrash scene who are doing something different - it's certainly not original, but it's different. So many modern bands leap for the homogenised American thrash sound in the vein of Slayer or Exodus, which is fine, but it got old a very long time ago; Exxxekutioner have taken all of their influence from bands such as Venom, Celtic Frost and Destruction to attain that true (or trve) early eighties black/speed metal sound, and by fuck, they've nailed it. The whole retro thrash thing has kind of watered itself down into an indecipherable mass of self parody as of late, and while I still enjoy the music, I've been begging for something like this to come along to help break up the monotony - it's still firmly rooted in the "look-how-old-school-we-are" approach, but it's done right this time. And with an all-important sense of self awareness, which so many wannabe-retro bands seem to desperately lack.
As for the music, well... it's speed metal. I don't know what else to say, really - it keeps the pace going with enough changes going on in order to keep it interesting, there's a shitoad of reverb in all the right places, and they've been extremely careful to vary their track lengths between two and four minutes. Perhaps an easier way to describe the music would be in the form od a question; do you enjoy albums such as Obsessed by Cruelty, Infernal Overkill or Black Metal? Because that's exactly what you're getting here, and it's pretty goddamn close in terms of it's songwriting quality. But with everything great there has to be a catch of some sort, and even though the production is inconceivably superior to the band's previous recording, it's still not quite right... the guitar is a tad too loud throughout and the reverb, though it's one of the things that makes the album so good, can occasionally make the vocals or the bass get lost amongst everything else that's going on. Of course, I understand exactly what the intention was and it still helps the album moreso than hindering it, but it's a slight issue that could have been resolved by spending just a day or two more on the mix.
Overall, Exxxekutioner have released an absolutely stunning EP that's honestly surprised me; upon hearing their previous release, I had a feeling that they may have been onto something rather special and I was eager to hear what they'd do with a bit of time and care, but this was a lot more than I was expecting. Everything may appear primitive and tryhard on the surface, but the raw approach has a lot of charm that I simply don't see these days. You often hear bands using the same excuse that they're "just playing the music that [we] want to hear" which, more often than not, translates to "we're unoriginal and talentless, but we're too up ourselves to admit that so we're going to bullshit you and pretend that we're doing something original". There's none of that with Exxxekutioner, because it's readily apparent that they're genuinely playing this music out of a sheer love for doing what they want to do. They've not sat down and said "let's write songs that sound like *x* or *y* today", it's 100% organic. And that is something that I've seen from perhaps six bands over the past decade, maybe less, and they deserve immense respect for that alone. Fear the Priest ain't perfect, but goddammit it's close and I can't think of a higher recommendation for your summer playlist.
If Exxxekutioner can follow this up effectively, they'll be unstoppable.
Fear the Priest isn't a great deal more than a simple continuation of the band's previous demo, which is probably the source of it's charm. Exxxekutioner are one of very, very few bands in the UK thrash scene who are doing something different - it's certainly not original, but it's different. So many modern bands leap for the homogenised American thrash sound in the vein of Slayer or Exodus, which is fine, but it got old a very long time ago; Exxxekutioner have taken all of their influence from bands such as Venom, Celtic Frost and Destruction to attain that true (or trve) early eighties black/speed metal sound, and by fuck, they've nailed it. The whole retro thrash thing has kind of watered itself down into an indecipherable mass of self parody as of late, and while I still enjoy the music, I've been begging for something like this to come along to help break up the monotony - it's still firmly rooted in the "look-how-old-school-we-are" approach, but it's done right this time. And with an all-important sense of self awareness, which so many wannabe-retro bands seem to desperately lack.
As for the music, well... it's speed metal. I don't know what else to say, really - it keeps the pace going with enough changes going on in order to keep it interesting, there's a shitoad of reverb in all the right places, and they've been extremely careful to vary their track lengths between two and four minutes. Perhaps an easier way to describe the music would be in the form od a question; do you enjoy albums such as Obsessed by Cruelty, Infernal Overkill or Black Metal? Because that's exactly what you're getting here, and it's pretty goddamn close in terms of it's songwriting quality. But with everything great there has to be a catch of some sort, and even though the production is inconceivably superior to the band's previous recording, it's still not quite right... the guitar is a tad too loud throughout and the reverb, though it's one of the things that makes the album so good, can occasionally make the vocals or the bass get lost amongst everything else that's going on. Of course, I understand exactly what the intention was and it still helps the album moreso than hindering it, but it's a slight issue that could have been resolved by spending just a day or two more on the mix.
Overall, Exxxekutioner have released an absolutely stunning EP that's honestly surprised me; upon hearing their previous release, I had a feeling that they may have been onto something rather special and I was eager to hear what they'd do with a bit of time and care, but this was a lot more than I was expecting. Everything may appear primitive and tryhard on the surface, but the raw approach has a lot of charm that I simply don't see these days. You often hear bands using the same excuse that they're "just playing the music that [we] want to hear" which, more often than not, translates to "we're unoriginal and talentless, but we're too up ourselves to admit that so we're going to bullshit you and pretend that we're doing something original". There's none of that with Exxxekutioner, because it's readily apparent that they're genuinely playing this music out of a sheer love for doing what they want to do. They've not sat down and said "let's write songs that sound like *x* or *y* today", it's 100% organic. And that is something that I've seen from perhaps six bands over the past decade, maybe less, and they deserve immense respect for that alone. Fear the Priest ain't perfect, but goddammit it's close and I can't think of a higher recommendation for your summer playlist.
If Exxxekutioner can follow this up effectively, they'll be unstoppable.
1. March To Death
2. B.I.B.
3. Fear The Priest
4. Divine Siren
5. Maniac Asylum
6. Black Witchery
2. B.I.B.
3. Fear The Priest
4. Divine Siren
5. Maniac Asylum
6. Black Witchery
Label: http://www.ultharrecords.com
Reviewer: Dave Ingram Jr.
Aug 10, 2014
Aug 10, 2014
Next review:
Cancer - The Sins Of Mankind
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