Review by Alex on December 19, 2020.

There's been much contest but this hands down makes it seem as though there had not been a competition in the first place. And to be honest, black metal is not a competition...... What better time than now to stray from modernity to the days of crumbling ancients. To finally immerse oneself in one's thoughts during the beauty and delight of this seclusion as it were a normality of past times. Vermineux offers a 50 minute demo, yes a demo that is sprawling and is also of the highest quality within black metal. Engineered by Minenwerfer vocalist, Spectre, 1337 follows 1315 that was previously released in 2018 by Vermineux that likewise, possessed a runtime of 50 minutes or so according to what I was able to pull up on Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives. However; since I have not been able to sink into the previous work of Vermineux, I can't give account or make comparisons between the two releases; as far a 1337 goes however, it's a stellar work of black metal artistry that truly harkens back to aeons' elder and glorious.

It's ambient, lethal, all the while graceful and poignant, 1337 takes some of the best moments within the genre and consolidates them. Marked deeply by a classicism and scholarly character, 1337 appears to be unbothered by the ways of here and now, instead focusing only on recreating the damaged fabric of the genre. Spectre's voice on the demo is of sheer eldritch might, managing to exhibit vigor and stamina through his screams that aligns with the rhythms of melancholy or overwhelming aggression. The guitars with staggering precision connect its strings with the wailing cries of late first wave to early 2nd wave riffing, tremolo hooks and chords. Steadily becoming more and more of a challenge to the acoustic pieces, ambient intermezzos and chanting, the riff work on tracks the likes of 'Oriflamme', 'Bloodlines', 'Cotereaux' and 'Crécy' fight for the right to make a podium entry with regards to each instrumental addition to 1337. You'd have to dig for those moments of serenity but the reward is surely there for the disciplined and adventurous listener.

Ambient installments are done exceptionally well on 1337, it's almost as though they're presented in the most deceptive manner, with no real indication of when they would be introduced, instead are only weaved into the textures of the material soothingly and with a touch of antediluvian delicacy. You hear it in the backdrop of the acoustic rhythm and chants of 'A Ship is Burning' to tracks such as 'Valois' and 'Plantagenet' and are even featured on the more violent pieces such as 'Bloodlines' (watch out for the Inquisition riffing at 04:29). These ambient moments at times almost make you forget that the drums even exist. Giving one the impression that the drumming was merely a watchful associate to the rest of the music, only there to oversee and cast the foundation for it all to work; that at instances, even bring to mind the likes of Runespell or Blood Stronghold.

The production is as I would have expected it to be: ancestral. And the cover artwork would reel in anyone who appreciates this kind of effort. My only gripe with this Purity Through Fire release is that 1337 does not have a vinyl release set which is bothering to me. A recording this decorated deserves to be placed on the format. 1337 is a songbird to a time long gone with remnants of its existence held at heart by those who cherish it.

Rating: 9.7 out of 10

Review by Felix on July 9, 2019.

Sometimes I think that everything was better in the old days, but this is nostalgic nonsense. Even the golden eighties were full of catastrophes. Chernobyl, the Tiananmen Square massacre in China, earthquakes in Iran... the list is endless - and some cynics say that the list is not complete without the release of Break the Silence. Quite frankly, I agree.

Executioner's vinyl is the grotesque caricature of a metal album. The song-writing is as terrible as a plane crash. The production sounds thin, atypically holey and miserable. I do not know the motivation behind the recordings, but I am almost sure the "musicians" wanted to make an attempt on the global metal scene. They tried to poison our tastes with this meaningless, uninspired and totally useless track. I do not intend to destroy the reputation of my most favourite sub-genre, that's the reason why I do not write every letter of the word thr**h. It would be terrible to read such a fantastic word in a review for this pile of shit, because there exists absolutely no link between the here presented songs and the classics you are thinking about when it comes to thr**h. However, Executioner wanted to be a thr**h band, but they were just crummy wannabes. Usually, dudes of this kind do not even get the permission to be part of the road crew. Here are the painful details.

The choruses are absolute crap. No tinge of a melody, no memorable lines, nothing. I admit that "Your Life Is Over" sounds a little bit better than the other flops, but even this track does not reach a fairly good level. Okay, I further admit that the solos are really solos. What I mean is that they have nothing to do with the rest of the so-called songs. They are performed without any connections to the other parts. However, the worst is yet to come. Sometimes the "artists" want to show that they can play really fast. That's the point where the drummer decides to torture his snare drum as much as he can. It's that kind of velocity which is performed only for the sake of velocity. By the way, the rattling snare is one reason why the mix sucks. The guitars also fail, they are neither heavy nor massive. Believe me, it's a drama and the totally expressionless vocals do not add any value to the songs as well. But the main problem, no doubt about it, are the songs themselves. They are performed without any emotions, they do not possess any kind of surprising twists and turns and to call them simple is almost a euphemism. The meticulous design of the fabulous artwork reflects the accurate elaboration of the ten anti-songs. I never worshipped the God of complexity, but rather straight tunes need at least a good main riff. Too bad that Executioner ignore this iron law completely.

With publications like this one, New Renaissance Records demonstrated impressively that they were interested in committing commercial suicide. Crude gangs like Executioner deserved a kick in the ass, a glass of warm milk or some private lessons, but there is one thing that they broke the silence for the last time. It remained their farewell album. Hey dudes, do me a favor and did not deserve: a record deal. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Break the Silence do not come back. No renaissance instead of New Renaissance. We do not want to face the next catastrophe.

Rating: 0.3 out of 10