Review by Wiley on November 26, 2009.

Black architecture of hate and depravity housing an ancient machinery of dire purpose, the solitude embodied here exacts an atavistic vengeance of times (im)memorial. There is something very wrong conspiring here that touches even the most apathetic soul with a sense of sadness.

Yet all Lovecraftian allusions aside, this disc lingers and drips the agony of a misanthropic ideal. Most immediate to my attention are the samples renderred in English and German (?), and then the vocals as abrasive as any in recent memory, more akin to Bethlehem's hate than your standard Black Metal stereotype. The guitars and bass sludge away in a slow/midpace drive, soaking in a deliberate fuzz,rather than the buzzsaw Marshall tone adopted by their more Death and Black Metal peers of Swedish blood. Every nuance of repetition seems balanced here with atmosphere, utilizing sparse and minimalist keys here and there, trenched in creep and echo over full orchestral triumph.

Let me not forget the drum machine play here, if not very needed or appropriate; there are some interesting ideas culminating in this unjustly neglected tool. The drums sound like drums when neccesary, then for added impact various noise layers are added to keep each tracks drums from seeming to inane and repetitious. After all, this disc is about the atmosphere and hate. I have been asked as to whether this band is National Socialist or fascist, and I really have only one kind of answer, this band is out to relay hate, but not simply directionless - there is intent and If that intent I can only guess. The images and atmosphere portrayed by the music are equally held up in the package department stabbing the listener with a vague feeling of unrelenting emptiness. With a
booklet of pictures ranging from Timothy McVey's mugshot to a black convict strapped to the electric chair to mass graves and even the World Trade Towers upon impact prior to their fall. You get the idea these people really hate, and it bleeds through in spades with each and every plodding chug and virulent scream.

I would suggest this album best for fans of Neurosis, Leviathan, and Boyd Rice. All who do cannot embrace those disparaging sounds and atmospheres combined simply need not apply. Post apocalyptic visions aside, a fine disc for those days when you just wish everything would die a violent messy death.......

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 6.8
Atmosphere: 8.0
Production: 6.8
Originality 6.8
Overall:6.8

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Felix on July 9, 2019.

Sometimes I think that everything was better in the old days, but this is nostalgic nonsense. Even the golden eighties were full of catastrophes. Chernobyl, the Tiananmen Square massacre in China, earthquakes in Iran... the list is endless - and some cynics say that the list is not complete without the release of Break the Silence. Quite frankly, I agree.

Executioner's vinyl is the grotesque caricature of a metal album. The song-writing is as terrible as a plane crash. The production sounds thin, atypically holey and miserable. I do not know the motivation behind the recordings, but I am almost sure the "musicians" wanted to make an attempt on the global metal scene. They tried to poison our tastes with this meaningless, uninspired and totally useless track. I do not intend to destroy the reputation of my most favourite sub-genre, that's the reason why I do not write every letter of the word thr**h. It would be terrible to read such a fantastic word in a review for this pile of shit, because there exists absolutely no link between the here presented songs and the classics you are thinking about when it comes to thr**h. However, Executioner wanted to be a thr**h band, but they were just crummy wannabes. Usually, dudes of this kind do not even get the permission to be part of the road crew. Here are the painful details.

The choruses are absolute crap. No tinge of a melody, no memorable lines, nothing. I admit that "Your Life Is Over" sounds a little bit better than the other flops, but even this track does not reach a fairly good level. Okay, I further admit that the solos are really solos. What I mean is that they have nothing to do with the rest of the so-called songs. They are performed without any connections to the other parts. However, the worst is yet to come. Sometimes the "artists" want to show that they can play really fast. That's the point where the drummer decides to torture his snare drum as much as he can. It's that kind of velocity which is performed only for the sake of velocity. By the way, the rattling snare is one reason why the mix sucks. The guitars also fail, they are neither heavy nor massive. Believe me, it's a drama and the totally expressionless vocals do not add any value to the songs as well. But the main problem, no doubt about it, are the songs themselves. They are performed without any emotions, they do not possess any kind of surprising twists and turns and to call them simple is almost a euphemism. The meticulous design of the fabulous artwork reflects the accurate elaboration of the ten anti-songs. I never worshipped the God of complexity, but rather straight tunes need at least a good main riff. Too bad that Executioner ignore this iron law completely.

With publications like this one, New Renaissance Records demonstrated impressively that they were interested in committing commercial suicide. Crude gangs like Executioner deserved a kick in the ass, a glass of warm milk or some private lessons, but there is one thing that they broke the silence for the last time. It remained their farewell album. Hey dudes, do me a favor and did not deserve: a record deal. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Break the Silence do not come back. No renaissance instead of New Renaissance. We do not want to face the next catastrophe.

Rating: 0.3 out of 10

Review by Felix on July 9, 2019.

Sometimes I think that everything was better in the old days, but this is nostalgic nonsense. Even the golden eighties were full of catastrophes. Chernobyl, the Tiananmen Square massacre in China, earthquakes in Iran... the list is endless - and some cynics say that the list is not complete without the release of Break the Silence. Quite frankly, I agree.

Executioner's vinyl is the grotesque caricature of a metal album. The song-writing is as terrible as a plane crash. The production sounds thin, atypically holey and miserable. I do not know the motivation behind the recordings, but I am almost sure the "musicians" wanted to make an attempt on the global metal scene. They tried to poison our tastes with this meaningless, uninspired and totally useless track. I do not intend to destroy the reputation of my most favourite sub-genre, that's the reason why I do not write every letter of the word thr**h. It would be terrible to read such a fantastic word in a review for this pile of shit, because there exists absolutely no link between the here presented songs and the classics you are thinking about when it comes to thr**h. However, Executioner wanted to be a thr**h band, but they were just crummy wannabes. Usually, dudes of this kind do not even get the permission to be part of the road crew. Here are the painful details.

The choruses are absolute crap. No tinge of a melody, no memorable lines, nothing. I admit that "Your Life Is Over" sounds a little bit better than the other flops, but even this track does not reach a fairly good level. Okay, I further admit that the solos are really solos. What I mean is that they have nothing to do with the rest of the so-called songs. They are performed without any connections to the other parts. However, the worst is yet to come. Sometimes the "artists" want to show that they can play really fast. That's the point where the drummer decides to torture his snare drum as much as he can. It's that kind of velocity which is performed only for the sake of velocity. By the way, the rattling snare is one reason why the mix sucks. The guitars also fail, they are neither heavy nor massive. Believe me, it's a drama and the totally expressionless vocals do not add any value to the songs as well. But the main problem, no doubt about it, are the songs themselves. They are performed without any emotions, they do not possess any kind of surprising twists and turns and to call them simple is almost a euphemism. The meticulous design of the fabulous artwork reflects the accurate elaboration of the ten anti-songs. I never worshipped the God of complexity, but rather straight tunes need at least a good main riff. Too bad that Executioner ignore this iron law completely.

With publications like this one, New Renaissance Records demonstrated impressively that they were interested in committing commercial suicide. Crude gangs like Executioner deserved a kick in the ass, a glass of warm milk or some private lessons, but there is one thing that they broke the silence for the last time. It remained their farewell album. Hey dudes, do me a favor and did not deserve: a record deal. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Break the Silence do not come back. No renaissance instead of New Renaissance. We do not want to face the next catastrophe.

Rating: 0.3 out of 10