It’s nice to hear the development of brother musicians who provide passion to the cause when it comes to death/thrash. Executionist consists of drummer Tristan Ash and his brother Brett – who performs guitar, bass, and vocals on this album Sacrament of the Sick. The songwriting and performances on this ten-track outing exemplify musicians from West Virginia willing to incorporate a host of American, German, and Scandinavian influences to create a style that lacerates in its intensity, no matter what tempo, chord progressions, or transitions pour through.
The main vocals of Brett cut through the mix like a serrated knife – much in the way that classic Mille of Kreator or the late Alex Laiho of Children of Bodom when taking in savage material like “Wheels of War” or relentless “Strange Aeons”. Careful attention to guitar layers serves up additional harmony and counterpoint elements, evident out of the gate on the aggressive yet melodic “Edge of Annihilation”, especially during the multiple lead breaks that showcase numerous fret forward activities. Tristan possesses the ideal balance between energetic forcefulness while maintaining key mainframe abilities to drive these songs along in diverse, heavy hitting fashion. “Serrated Shadows” contains a lot of Children of Bodom-like qualities where the syncopated guitar/drum passages shift into high gear for the verses, the double kick / tremolo picking key to ideal death/thrash retention. Its evident as much as Executionist love early 80s Bay Area heroes from Testament to Exodus or Death Angel, there’s obvious affinity for the entire discography of Kreator as well as early Children of Bodom – check into “Palace of Kings” or “Divided We Stand… United We Fall” for both aspects of those influences. Tristan taking on self-production duties maintains a healthy quality control when it comes to tones and sonic values – balancing out the audible elements with the right amount of razor-sharp aggression and heaviness that this style deserves.
Four years after their Destined For Destruction debut EP, Executionist have finally filled out their lineup to a quartet as second guitarist Mike Kinder and bassist Austin Rose joined the mix following the recording of Sacrament of the Sick. Which makes the future even brighter for this young act, as they’ve already made many strides up the underground ladder through this collection of material. Those who want a great mix of thrash with melodic and death accents to their preferred tastes, here is another record to add to your collection.