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CD reviews

Xecutioner's Return

Obituary - Xecutioner's Return Audio CD

A fair review of the Obituary "Xecutioner's Return" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Obituary reviews here, or go back to the Obituary tabs.

Band: Obituary
Title: Xecutioner's Return
Rating:

Release Date: 2007-08-28
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Face Your God 2: Lasting Presence 3: Evil Ways 4: Drop Dead 5: Bloodshot 6: Seal Your Fate 7: Feel the Pain 8: Contrast the Dead 9: Second Chance 10: Lies 11: In Your Head

not their best but true death metal
objeckively it's good better than back from the dead but not cause,the end or frozen or even world demise. on first listen this is different good?bad? different? then comes the new guitarist catstrangeling his axe shiit!get allen west back on the road or at least let him write and record new stuff i'm not very fond of this change but I can't say it suck either.
their newest one dark day seams a little better but ralph still dosn't fit and plays a different type of guitar than obituary needs!allen must return!.

A Return to Form.
The first time I heard about Obituary was back in a Metal Maniacs magazine when they just came out with Slowly We Rot. I have been a long time fan of Obituary and the only thing I can say after buying and receiving Xecutioner`s Return is Wow. After reading the glowing reviews I went out and bought it a couple of days later. Upon my first listening experience I was blown away and couldn`t get enough. Their next album (Cause of Death) took their brand of brutality and heaviness to a new level and put these guys on top of the Death Metal mountain. I couldn`t wait for the next release and waited anxiously for it to be available. Well, the next two releases (The End Complete and World Demise) found Obituary experimenting with Hardcore and the marriage between the two left me disgusted. I love Hardcore Punk but if I want to hear it I`ll buy/throw on a Hardcore Punk album. I don`t want to hear a Death Metal band play around with the idea and incorporate it in their music. My admiration for Obituary waned and I gave up on them, although, hoping that they would some day return to form. Well, the wait is over because they have and I couldn`t be happier. Xecutioner`s Return is Obituary harkening back to their glory days of SWR and CoD with just a bit of the later albums creeping in. The album is almost flawless and out of the 11 tracks 10 are classics. John`s voice has never sounded better. I`ve read reviews from members that call the production shoddy or flawed but unless you call their first two albums the same then you wont have a complaint, as I don`t, towards it. The guitars are heavy and dripping with their classic brand of riffing. The bass, although a bit lost in the mix, accents the percussion and at times the guitars nicely. The drums have never sounded better. At times Donald`s kit work sounds as if his drum sticks weigh 20 pounds each from how heavy the timing is and how loud the accents are on the snare. Same thing goes for his double kick work as you`d think the same weight would apply to his shoes. (Like I said, old sounding Obituary on display here) The guitar solos of Mr. Santolla are melodic in the old school thrash sense where carefully crafted guitar soloing was well thought out and respected. But, although talented and adding a new depth to Obituary`s music they at first do seem strange and out of place upon first listen. However, this is quickly forgotten about as anyone who can appreciate Metal and its old school forms of guitar antics will see that the blending of the two work together rather than take away. All in all a great album for any fan of Obituary that has been praying, as I was, for a return to their first two albums. Ever since I got my copy I haven`t been able to stop playing it and I`m willing to bet you wont either. Well worth the money.

Guitar wanker Santolla
Vocals are a bit "careful" and I hate the guitar wanker solos by mr Santolla. This album is nowhere near any of the previous Obituary releases. I'm a huge fan of Obituary, but this album i a huge let down.

Not quite what I expected.
I was really looking forward to the release of "Xecutioner's Return" and was really hoping for great things because I've been a fan of Obituary since the early days, but unfortunately I found the whole thing a bit flat and "samey". . in my opinion it's probably comparable to "Back from the Dead" like Chris from San Diego wrote in an earlier review. I found that the guitar sounds got a little sludgy and weren't as crisp as say "Slowly We Rot" and "Cause of Death" (which are probably still two of the best death metal releases out there). It is still Obituary and I'm sure fans will buy it anyway, but I feel their first two releases outshine this one by a long shot. . . but if you love their later stuff, say from "Back from the Dead" onwards, then this'll be right up your alley.

...THEY have returned!
They formed back in '85 as 'Executioner' at the beginning of the Florida death metal scene which spawned many fledging death metal bands like Death, Morbid Angel, and Deicide. Obituary has been playing their bone breaking, skull crushing patented style of Florida death metal now for over 20 years, and have yet to show any signs of letting up. Come '89 they changed their name to Obituary before they released their brutal breakthrough debut, Slowly We Rot. While almost all of those bands tried to go faster and faster, Obituary took things in a different direction. Heavily inspired by bands like Celtic Frost, they developed a slower, crushingly heavy style with a signature groove to it that no one else to this day has been able to recreate or master the way these guys have. Now, this is not saying that they don't play fast. In fact, some of their fastest songs (as well as their doomiest) are on this album.
Earlier this year, their longtime lead guitarist, Allen West, was imprisoned for many DUIs, and is not getting out until February of 2008. So, they were without a lead guitarist and enlisted the help of guitar wizard, Ralph Santolla, formerly of Death, Iced Earth, and most recently, Deicide. The results of the album are nothing less than awesome. Ralph does a FANTASTIC job on this album, solos all over the place! Ralph's style is completely different from Allen's, but its just as great. John Tardy has kept his voice in great shape after all these years and delivers his best vocal performance since The End Complete, in my opinion. His brother, Don Tardy, only continues to get faster as a drummer, all the while retaining his signature groove style, which made him one of my favorite drummers ever since I first heard him. Trevor Peres pulls out some of his best work to date on rhythm guitar, and even throws a couple of solos on the album! Frank Watkins' bass adds the extra kick to the album and provides a solid backbone. All in all this album is great and is up there with their first three albums. This is a must have for all metal fans.
-Bonham. 45.

You can see a complete list of all Obituary discography, or go back to the Obituary tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.