Executionist – Sacrament of the Sick Album Review

Where are all my death-thrash freaks at? This one is absolutely for you. From the opening moments, Executionist makes it clear this album isn’t here to play nice. It’s a full-on sensory assault. Well, maybe not your taste buds or eyesight, but you get the idea. Strap in, hold tight, and maybe say goodbye to your eardrums while you’re at it.

The album opens with a short instrumental, like a sonic reset button, clearing out whatever soft shit you were listening to before this and making room for the incoming firestorm. It works. Once “Edge of Annihilation” kicks in, there’s no looking back.

Brett Ash doesn’t just front this band, he is the band. Vocals, guitar, bass, and lyrics are all on his shoulders, and he carries the weight like it’s nothing. He’s the whole damn army here. It’s all-out warfare from front to back, and nowhere is that more obvious than on “Wheels of War,” a standout seven-minute monster that somehow never drags. It opens with a quick drum fill, slides into a slow chug, and builds toward triplets and tremolo runs that are impossible to ignore. Then Brett unleashes a neck-breaking speed-picking onslaught before launching into the verse. The track never sits still for long, shifting from mid-tempo crush to breakneck speed with a precision that scorches.

The songwriting throughout Sacrament of the Sick is sharp, focused, and way more thoughtful than your standard party-thrash fare. Tracks like “Divided We Stand… United We Fall” hit hard not just musically, but thematically too, taking clear shots at the fractured world we’re all living in. There’s an urgency here that feels earned, not forced. This isn’t kick-your-friend-in-the-head music. It’s smarter, meaner, and more deliberate.

And let’s talk about the length. At 54 minutes with several tracks running over six and even seven minutes, this album should feel long, but it doesn’t. Not once. I’ve listened to it all the way through at least six times and never found myself checking the time. Every second feels earned. Nothing drags, nothing overstays.

It’s wild to think this is a debut full-length. Executionist first formed in 2021 when Brett and his brother Tristan (who handles drums here) were just teenagers. After releasing their EP Destined for Destruction, they spent years refining their sound. That grind shows. Sacrament of the Sick is a massive leap forward in every way. The production is bigger, the playing is tighter, and the writing is far more dialed-in. Every track was crafted and recorded in the band’s home studio, and it’s obvious they gave a shit about every detail.

For fans of Kreator and Children of Bodom, there’s plenty to sink your teeth into here, but Sacrament of the Sick isn’t some knockoff homage. It stands on its own. Executionist is carving out their own lane in the death-thrash world, and after this record, they’ve definitely got my attention.

I walked into this review a total newcomer. I’m walking out a fan. Now I’m chasing more bands that can hit this hard, but if I’m being real, that bar’s been set pretty fucking high.