Krisiun – The Great Execution

Krisiun is a band that is admirable for what they do, to say the least. From the start of their career they have made a name for producing some of the most primal and furious death metal ever known, and over their 20 years of existence they still continue to do so without straying away from their basic style, but not to the point of repeating themselves either. Indeed, the band has grown tremendously as musicians and has earned worldwide recognition, placing them amongst the biggest names of the death metal scene. Plus that they have always been excellent live performers. 3 years after 2008’s “Southern Storm”, the Brazilian masters of brutality are back with their 8th full length album, “The Great Execution”, and are as unrelenting and determined as ever.

“The Great Execution” is also a somewhat more ambitious effort for Krisiun standards. While their signature style is present here as well, there are a few touches here and there that make the album a much more interesting listen than its predecessors. Most evidently, the album features more varied tempos and grooving
parts, as displayed on tracks such as “Descending Abomination” and “Rise and Confront”. And while Krisiun have already started adding more groove to their sound from “AssasiNation”, here it is utilized to a greater extent. This gives the songs a greater sense of tension and release, exploding into blastbeat frenzy just at the moment it is needed. Of course complete full speed assaults in classic Krisiun style such as “The Extremist” and the title track are not missing from this album.

In general, the songs on “The Great Execution” are better structured and more intricate. Lead guitars are much more prominent, with sinister melodic lines being laid over the brutal riffs, adding more depth to the songs. The song lengths have also increased, with the average length being at 5 to 6 minutes, while 2 tracks exceed the 7 minute mark. Finally, there are some little but delightful surprises that will surely put a smile on the listener’s faces, namely the flamenco guitars featured in “The Will to Potency” and “The Sword of Orion”, as well as the guest appearance of João Gordo, vocalist of the legendary Brazilian crossover thrash band Ratos de Porão, on “Extinção em Massa”, which is sung entirely on Portuguese.

All these years Krisiun has never failed to impress, and as expected, “The Great Execution” is no exception to this rule. In fact, this might as well be their strongest effort since the classic “Conquerors of Armageddon”. The only small drawback could be the production, which excellent for sure, but is somewhat thinner and
more “digital” than it was on the previous albums. But really the end result here is so good that most will not even bother with this minor flaw. Krisiun truly is at their greatest form, and with “The Great Execution” they once again prove why they totally deserve to be considered one of death metals biggest names.