Review by Saxy S for Hexecutor - Beyond Any Human Conception of Knowledge (2020)

I've been around this website for enough time now that I feel comfortable skipping over my usual preamble surrounding genres that I have never really cared for that much, or in the case of thrash metal, genre's that have continuously disappointed in the years following their hay-day. But I pride myself on willing to give it another opportunity to impress and find that sticky x-factor that will keep me coming back. Which leads us to Hexecutor, a French based thrash metal act who are experimenting ever so slightly into the technical side, and far more prominently in the blackened variety. 

The debut album, Poison, Lust and Damnation, showed the band some promise and the sophomore record is pretty decent as well, but flawed. It gets a bunch of brownie points right out of the gate for trying something...maybe not original, but certainly breaking the mold of nostalgia for the 1980s that thrash metal has been perpetually trapped in for a few years. However, I didn't really feel this album in the same way that I did for a Vektor album.

And I think the main reason why is in the compositions. There are some decent moments that stand out on "Ker Ys", "Tiger of the Seven Seas" and "Danse Macabre" that really resonate and sound great. The problem is that Hexecutor does not let these ideas and themes develop and grow. Instead, they will introduce a melodic theme such as the main one on the second half of "Brecheliant", then modulate time/key signatures into something unrelated to that original idea, only to later return to it on the outro, almost as an afterthought. It was almost like: "well we are at the end, what do we do now? I know, let's bring the original hook back just because! That will justify the six minute runtime!"

And this a problem surrounding the whole album. "Eternal Impenitence", "Belzebuth's Apocryphal Mark" and "Kroez Er Vossen" are all trying to balance a thrash and black metal hybrid that is not all that well combined. They feel like they were composed separately by two different writers. And when the time came to put them together, it was decided that they would just Gorilla Glue them together. The end result is something that absolutely could have worked if it had more interwoven phrases.

It's really a shame that these tracks do not flow that well because the instrumentation is tight. This record sounds a lot more refined than the debut; all of the instruments are fully flushed out including the bass, and the swapping between chugging thrash riffs and open tremolo picking does not sound abrasive or feel all that disconnected. The percussion is fairly solid and reminds me all too much of the title track from that recent Bütcher album 666 Goats Carry My Chariot. The vocals...are not good. Thrash metal is supposed to be abrasive and aggressive, meanwhile the vocals on this record feel very hushed and laid back. I mean if it wasn't for those chugging riffs, I would have a hard time calling this a thrash metal record at all! The vocals are certainly much more in tune with black metal howls, but even then, they are not the bellowing roars of Panopticon, Saor or Dzö-nga that I really enjoy.

I can see the potential in this album, and Hexecutor are making positive strides in their sound since the debut so props for that. This album is trying to separate itself from the traditional 1980s thrash metal sound and it does pay off with its black metal hybrid. But the songwriting is underwhelming, the vocals are painfully mixed/performed, and the album honestly runs too long for its own sake. I would still give it a listen, especially for those who are looking for some more progressive (not technical) thrash. Hopefully this band can improve on some of these quibbles and great things will arise in the future. And hopefully start a new wave of what thrash metal can become.