My first impression is that at least half the band didn’t really want to change their image; for them, the ‘new’ masks look pretty much like the ‘old’ stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t think there was anything wrong with them before, so this is a GOOD Thing. Of the guys who did make some major look changes, here’s my thoughts;

Sid (Turntables) - Looks like either a Borg or a Transformer. Can’t decide which.
Joey (Drums) - All that time with Satyricon must’ve worn off ’cause now he looks like an evil Jesus.
Shawn (Clown - Percussion) - I’d swear he’s on the cover of Sabbath’s “Never Say Die”. Kinda looks like Black Op Bozo now.
Corey (Vocals) - ok, I haven’t warmed up to his new look yet at all. Before, he was creepiness incarnate with the dread-like hair and the Texas Chainsaw mask. Now, he just reminds me of a tampon. Really, go look. He’s Tampax Man. Maybe I’ll like it more when the videos come out.

So there you have it. Not the revelation we were led to think it would be, but then - does hype EVER really live up?

Now if we could just get them to release the album sooner. . .

Actually, the whole discussion is a pretty honest appraisel of the band itself and Death Metal in general by what seems to be a grounded member of the scene. If you’ve ever seen JfaC live, you know they kill, I mean KILL, on stage. Very brutal, very heavy - even for Death Metal. But according to Davy, it’s not a well paying situation (which I figured) and doesn’t get too many chicks (now THAT surprises me).

I always figured EVERY musician got his share of groupie goodness, just the level improves as you become more famous. Hell, when I was in college our house band ‘The Elves From Hell’ even got groupies - scary, infected toothless varmits but we had’em. You know it’s bad when you can be stumbling drunk and STILL not be tempted by them. Although our bassist Chuck may have taken the plunge, not sure.

But I digress - check out the link for the interview with one of Death Metal’s rising acts before fame & drugs ruin them (hope not).

Never heard of ‘em? Me neither until I found their Myspace page completely by accident. Yeah yeah, they’re all the way over in Berlin - so I’m saving for airfare starting tomorrow.

Am I falling for their blatant attempt to use sexuality to sell their music - YES I AM!  Listen to the songs, watch the videos. You’ll see what I mean. It’s fairly standard screamcore but what eyecandy! Guitarist Ela wears thongs underneath her camo pants, while sporting that pouty “I won’t hurt you too badly” look in every pic. Corinna looks a bit more exotic and seems tall - climbing gear anyone? And Sabine looks like more of a girl-next-door type but also appears craziest of the three in the live pics. She’s a drummer, doesn’t ‘crazy’ pretty much come with the territory?

Ladies - you need to tour the States, and you need to tour Ohio. I have a living room. The wife will understand. So will the kids.

And if not, I’m out on the street and I’ll roadie for you guys. Sponge baths anyone (Gals only - sorry Devrim!).  Anyhow, that address again if you missed the link above is http://www.myspace.com/karrasberlin.

With songs like ‘Return of the Shredi’, ‘Shredisode V Teaser’ and a nifty cover of the ‘Imperial March’ on their Myspace page, you get an idea of what these guys are about.  It’s kinda like ’When Fanboys Go Bad’.  It is decently played metal, and probably fun to see live (lightsaber duels perhaps?), just not sure how more than an hour of this stuff would feel. 

Go check’em out before Lucasfilms sues them into oblivion at this LOCATION

Now 2 years later, we have ‘Xecutioner’s Return’ - a title with a deliberate homage to the band’s original name ‘Xecutioner’ before they changed it back in the late 80’s.  I took this as a good sign.  If they were acknowledging their roots, perhaps they were looking to return even more fully to the down-tuned guitar crunch I’d come to love.  I began to have hope.

Then I read about the trouble that Allen West had found himself in - once again being arrested for DUI, only this time the judge throwing the book at him and sentencing him to prison.   Unable to fulfill his recording and touring duties, the band temporarily replaced West with veteran axe-melter Ralph Santolla, who had just finished a brief stint with fellow Florida Death Metallers - Deicide.

And thus ‘Xecutioner’s Return’ was recorded.  Lo and behold, the Reverend saw (or heard rather) it was good.  The mind numbingly heavy minor chords were back!  Guitar solos, I mean REAL finger mincing, ear bleeding solos, were back!  Obituary WAS back!!  Hallelujah!!

Yes sports fans, this is a laudable effort indeed.  Living up to their old claim as being the ‘heaviest band in the world’, the boys have really laid down some sludge on this one, and it does my old heart good to hear it.   The slower, doomier progressions that were lacking in ‘Frozen in Time’ have returned, and the guitar solos are more elaborate & forceful - reminiscent of their early work.  Tempos vary, as is typical for these guys, between dirge-like slow to mid-range and headbangable.  Nothing super fast, which is my personal preference anyhow.  My favorite songs are probably the driving ‘Evil Ways’ (which is one of the most oldschool of the bunch), ‘Bloodshot’ and the oppressive ‘Contrast the Dead’.

Vocally, John Tardy has lost nothing of his raw-throated sound over the years - how, I cannot imagine as he is legendary for not using effects.   Compare his sound on this release to ‘Slowly We Rot’ [1989] and you’ll hear little difference - amazing.  Lyrically, Obituary song’s are always violent & brutal yet constructed with obscure phrasing and unusual emphasis such that understanding exactly the ‘theme’ of a song can be difficult.  This tracklist is no exception with songs like ‘Contrast the Dead’ and ‘Lies’, whose meanings remain submerged in their own murkiness & gloom.  The only real difference I noticed was a more flagrant anti-religious slant than usual, songs such as ‘Face Your God’ and ‘Second Chance’ seemingly venting in a darker, even Satanic vein, which I think would have been better left with their Black Metal brethren.

So honestly, it’s a great disc and bodes well for the future of this pioneering band, hopefully even moreso when West returns.  And here’s the sticky part.  ‘Cause of Death’ was also recorded while West was not in the band, lead fretburning being provided by the nomadic genius James Murphy (who’s been in too many bands to mention here).  I’m not picking on West, in fact I’ve met the man and he was as geniune and fan-friendly as everyone else in Obituary.  But it seems to me that West’s demons have been holding him back, and I’m not gonna pull punches and say differently.  His guitar work is adequate, but not nearly as aggressive or technically sharp as I believe he’s capable, or that he exemplified in the early days.

My hope is upon his release, he’ll return to his place on stage with his bandmates and channel his torment and rage back into the music where it belongs.  So they can collectively reign as Death Metal’s kings once more.