Label: The Execution Kollective
Distribution: Plastic Head Distribution
Release date: February + March 2011

The Executive Kollective is an extreme music division out of any politically correct control. Human faith in candy modern dreams is crushed by an utterly violent sounding catharsis: freedom replaced by unity, community replaced by blood. It’s a specific statement, it’s how this label defines humanity. It’s discussible, if only you did care…

Also, The Executive Kollective is worth mentioning for some new releases in early 2011. I have no idea about a possible release by Tech / Blast / Black band Shadowfost (when, how etc.), but the Concreteweb office received promo material by four other recordings, which show the differentiating approach of this Extreme Metal-label.

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Band: Human Improvement Process
Title: S.T.A.R.S.
Release date: February 7th 2011
Review: MCD

With S.T.A.R.S., Italian band Human Improvement Process brings a modern and technical symbiosis of Thrash and Death Metal, Metalcore, Hardcore, Screamo and Deathcore, mixed with industrial and electronic elements. Nevertheless it was a shock initially. The mini-album opens with One Second: Our Eternity, starting with a melancholic piano-tune, yet soon transforming into an atmospheric and danceable electronic composition. But Ascension Of Silence mercilessly proves the contrary.
The fast songs contain a huge differentiation in speed and structure, but whole the time it remains rather catchy. The songs, even though they’re professionally performed, do not renew at all, and the whole (lasting for twenty one minutes) sounds too clinical. The vocal approach too is varying yet evident: grunts, screams and clean vocals, a trusted combination when it comes to this kind of rhythmic and up-tempo stuff.
Sometimes, however, human Improvement Process do surprise me – listen for example to those nice acoustic passages in The Process, or the spherical intro on The Remaining Hours (which is, by the way, an acceptable semi-Gothic closure).
By the way, the money for each copy Human Improvement Process sell (so each copy fans buy) will be partly donated to the milieu activists of Sea Shepherd…

75/100
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Band: Ruled By Reason
Title: The Dawning Of Dystopia
Release date: March 28th 2011
Review: CD

Ruled By Reason are a Cleveland, Ohio (USA) based band, formed in the Fall of 2008 by two friends / colleague-musicians, Brian Montgomery (g) and Chris Glavac (b). After the recruitment of two former Decameron-members, Matt Tarach (g) and Sam Newman (d), as well as a vocalist (Jason Dean), Ruled By Reason recorded a first demo, and as from 2009, the band started playing live on stage; in mean time they did perform with bands like Cynic, The Faceless, Between The Buried And Me and Veil Of Maya.
The album (duration: 42:38 minutes) opens somewhat bizarre: water drops falling, exotic spheres, a melodic and melancholic guitar theme, piano… Yet as from We Met Destruction on, Ruled By Reason show their true face: technical Death Metal with a perfect equilibrium between modernism and tradition. The muscled tracks are very varying, going for the structures and tempo. The technical approach, including lots of breaks and hooks, the progressive riffs, harmonious guitar solos and energetic performance are nicely mixed – and I refer to both song writing and production. Of course the inevitable connection with the (mainly American) Metalcore- and (Post) Hardcore-scene comes to mind, but his band goes further than that with their mathematically precise craftsmanship. Undeniable as well are the influences from the nineties’ Gothenburg-scene, yet without really sounding Swedish (understandable?).
The Dawning Of Dystopia is full of contrasts, not only musically (see above). In spite of the rudeness and complexity, this debut is accessible and acceptable by quite a big audience for sure.

79/100
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Band: As Likely As Not
Title: Stand Up And Nerve
Label: The Execution Kollective
Distribution: Plastic Head Distribution
Release date: March 28th 2011
Review: CD

As Likely As Not are a band from Italy’s Lombardy-region, consisting of drummer Gianluca Rabbiosi, guitar players Andrea Mossini and Chicco De Giovanetti, bass player Simone Bonetti, and shouter / screamer Andrea Spinni. They debut on the upcoming The Execution Kollective (aka TEK) with Stand Up And Nerve, which was mixed by Pelle Saether at the famous Studio Underground (think: Italian colleagues like Opera IX, Necrodeath and Node, or Swedish bands like Throneaon, October Tide or Carnal Forge), and mastered by Göran Finnberg (Ensoph, Node, Stormlord, Disarmonia Mundi to keep it italianised).
And it is not that uncommon for an Italian Deathrash-band to sound Swedish. First bands that come to mind are, for example, Disarmonia Mundi (Soilwork’s Björn Strid takes care of the vocals, by the way), Node, Slowmotion Apocalypse or Through Your Silence, and As Likely As Not enrich this list. The eight tracks last for thirty five minutes (only) and indeed do sound strongly inspired by bands as At The Gates, (early) Dark Tranquillity and Soilwork. The main approach is Thrash-based, indeed the Death Metal-inspired kind, yet the modern one. However, Stand Up And Nerve’s 21st-century’s approach might have many tangles to Metalcore as well, but these elements are less accentuated than most American, German or British Metalcore-bands. From time to time, there’s an injection of slightly punky Hardcore-elements, which has to do with the members’ roots (some of them were involved within the Italian Hardcore scene). The groovy and hyper-kinetic tracks contain many tempo-changes and breaks, and most of the album rocks and quakes. Exceptions are the introduction on Only Echoes Of Dreams or the somewhat bizarre outro Omega. This finale mixes noisy Industrial, psychotic electronics, samples and grinding riffs – the most enervating way.
Oh yes, there’s a promotional video of My Last Confession available on the web, in case you care.

70/100
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Band: Mhorgl
Title: Antinomian
Release date: March 28th 2011
Review: CD

Australia is such a rich country when it comes to Black Metal. Unfortunately not many products from Down Under make it to our Northern lands. But believe me: there’s so much to find out there.
I do especially prefer the underground scene. Australia houses an enormous amount of excellent one-man projects (the members of Sadistik Exekution have their solo-projects, and you have Rout Shane with Abyssic Hate, Luke Mills, known from great bands and solo projects like from e.g. Kinstrife & Blood and Rift, Sin-Nanna with Striborg, Mordance of Paroxysmal Descent-fame etc.), and there are so many excellent bands as well (too many to mention).
Another rather unknown entity is this one: Mhorgl. The band hails from Perth and was originally formed in 2004. Mhorgl debuted in 2007 with The Sacrificial Flame (Aussiebastard Records), but this album didn’t get here. In 2010, the band (with former and current members of Infected, Pathogen, Pagan and Tyrant, by the way) self-released its second album, which gets available through upcoming Extreme Metal label The Execution Kollective as from now on.
What Mhorgl bring is a raw, fast and traditional form of (Scandinavian) nineties’ Black Metal. The lunatic tempo and dark-melodic riffing come close to the likes of Gorgoroth, Nifelheim, Setherial, Bathory and Darkthrone (the latter gets honoured with the pounding track Necrohatred (A Tribute To Darkthrone), by the way), or Australian acts like Deströyer 666 and Bestial Warlust, but Mhorgl include lots of technical structures, creating both harmony and disharmony. Paying homage to the protagonists and including border-passing elements at the same time, Mhorgl succeed. Most of the time, the album balances between raging and blasting, yet the slower parts are as dynamic as well, not intending to surrender.
Needful to mention: the lightning-speed Ozzy Osbourne-cover Mr. Crowley, pretty fun, yet not of the ridiculous or pathetic kind.
Total running time: thirty seven whirlwindy minutes.

83/100
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Ivan Tibos.