Real Music - 98%
Written by jizzrobot on February 9th, 2008
Alright, so everyone knows that there's a thrash revival sort of thing going on. I've been seeing bands like Merciless Death, Fueled By Fire, Bonded By Blood, and Warbringer get signed left and right and I'm really confused. Meltdown's "Executioner" tears new ass-holes through any current thrash release. In seeing a review that gives the album only a 65%, I'm totally perplexed. In all honesty, with a rating like that, I almost doubt the album was listened to.
Executioner is bursting with an attitude and thoughtfulness that I believe has been forgotten in today's metal. Ten well planed songs scream with passion and a variety that is really quite overdue. The opening track, One By One, deals a powerful punch in the face with blasting drums into screaming guitar riffs. The recording is a tad dry, but it has a genuine 80's feel. The guitar sounds natural and analog, making One By One and the rest of the album attractively aggressive. The title track could be a pop single, with catchy guitar lines and a driving thrash beat through a majority of the song. Though the main riff is reminiscent of Destruction's "Mad Butcher," it's clearly not the same, and in my opinion better in this application. There is a great metal diversity in this album in a Slayer-meets-Celtic Frost like song, Souls, and Next Attack, which might as well have been a NWOBHM anthem in the early eighties. These guys clearly listen to a lot of metal, there's VARIETY here.
Fast, theory-oriented solos set this group apart from the rest. Jeff Potts and Dan Wetmore lay serious shred on Executioner. After watching videos, I was able to tell whom most of the solos belonged to. Jeff is a true shredder that could take on the likes of Malmsteen, Becker, and Romeo. Crazy sweeping, petal point and creative tapping find their way into memorable leads. Dan Wetmore, on the other hand, plays in a style that's more likely compared to Hammet, Hanneman, or Mustaine. There is no sloppy random note crap in this band. These guys know theory and it shows.
Old school thrash seems to be on a comeback, but I'm not afraid it's going to last. Here is a band that can survive the bullshit. Maybe now it's just considered thrash, but over time, this could be considered just plain old great heavy metal. If you look at the band's myspace and check out the influences, it's apparent that they know what's up. You can hear the Ramones, you can hear Mercyful Fate, you can hear Judas Priest. These guys rule, best of luck to them, hopefully they find a label.