Obituary
Xecutioner's Return

The Return of the Xecutioner.

Yeah. The original moniker returns to dominate the musical work of the Floridian band Obituary.
After the stellar "Frozen in Time," a grand comeback for the American deathsters, two years later the obituary combo returns with a work that unfortunately is very lackluster.

Before starting, I have a question for dear Tardy: what does Ralph Santolla have to do with the sound of Obituary? His melodic phrases and solos with strong virtuosic flavor clash with the classic sound of the Floridians: a sound that made the lack of melody a strong point, one that could induce panic attacks with the mere claustrophobic sound of the legendary Allen West, who did not participate in the recordings and tour because he was in jail. Ralph Santolla was undoubtedly the hero of the new Deicide, but the heroic task carried out with Deicide did not repeat itself, and every one of his parts seems out of place, too much. And this big flaw is only one of many that make this "Xecutioner's Return" markedly inferior to the predecessor "Frozen in Time," already heavily criticized but respectable because it was a return that fit well with the classic Obituary sound.

Here, starting with the initial "Face your God" you can feel the sensation that Obituary are emulating themselves endlessly, no longer possessing that rotten and violent attitude that we liked so much, not to mention the unnecessary solo flurries by Santolla that I would find perfect in any other band but not in a band as peculiar as the Floridians! The heavy and decaying riffing of the past "Cause of Death" and "Slowly We Rot" is only partially imitated in "Lasting Presence" and the good "Evil Ways," surely the only noteworthy track on the whole album, but it's only a pale reprise of a sound that had its own personality, something that is missing here. It's missing in every song on the new album, a certain aggressiveness in the riffs, and that "sick" feeling that every historic track of Obituary possessed up until 2 years ago.

Santolla does not enrich the sound, nor the tracks, but degrades them by removing those peculiar characteristics of Obituary, as in the continuous melodic openings in "Drop Dead" or in "Bloodshot."
Awful "Seal your Fate" alongside "Lies" whereas a small quality jump are "Contrast the Death," a long death marathon with excellent slow and decaying riffing, and the finale "In your Head" where Santolla finally does a decent job.

Only positive notes? The Tardy brothers: John has an unmistakable vocal style while his brother Donald's rhythmic section is a guarantee, always.

Erase this work, boring and annoying, lacking personality, a sort of continuous self-citation. An album far from impeccable, with few arrows in its quiver. A heavy and unadvised listen.