Excutioner's Mask - Despair Anthems
This album was, in 2020, considered by the old scribe to be the most granitic and dense one of that year, and he comes back to it, willing to write about it, so that its traces are not lost, because it is so extreme, generous, tenebrous, a tepid wave of malaise with a crucifix of breaths tattooed on its skin without any more power. The route provides an impressive gothic backdrop, a journey between genres without getting lost, with a robust manner that gives the measure of a sublime quality. The years of human lament always have a dim light, a shyness that can, however, know the muscles and anger that in all tracks show their face. The singing cannot fail to remind one of Rozz Williams, while the musical part is an ocean of references that finds a way to evolve, and this is a truly remarkable aspect. Deathrock is an inevitable hint, as is Gothic Rock, not to mention Darkwave and Post-Punk. But it is not a confused act, a free-for-all to prove who knows what. Instead, the American band has a strategic plan and achieves it, giving us the chance to live on an altar, running around its perimeter, to make us bats in worship...
Alex Dematteis
Musicshockworld
Supino
21st April 2023
https://executionersmask.bandcamp.com/album/despair-anthems-2