Obituary Interview and Xecutioner's Return Review

Death metal pioneers Obituary have been back together for a few years and their latest CD is Xecutioner’s Return, which finds the band reinvigorated and hitting on all cylinders. There has been a lineup change. Longtime guitarist Allen West has been replaced by Ralph Santolla (Deicide). The band isn’t sure yet if it is a temporary or permanent change. I spoke with Obituary guitarist Trevor Peres about the new album, West’s status, and how things have been since their reunion.

Chad Bowar: How did Ralph Santolla come to join the band as your new guitarist?
Trevor Peres: We’ve known Ralph for probably 20 years. He’s from Tampa, and he’s been a musician playing with bands in the area forever. He had been with Deicide. We did some shows in Mexico with those guys. We were without Allen at the time and were a four piece playing live. Ralph left Deicide for reasons I’m not really sure of, and then we called him and asked him to put down some solos on the album. He did that, and one thing led to another.

How did the two of you mesh musically as guitarists?
He’s a totally cool guy. He’s a practical joker and loves to have a good time, which is good because that’s how we are. We are pretty lighthearted people. We don’t like to be serious all the time. We’ve done a few shows with him so far and it was great. We had a good time playing with him on stage. As far as him recording with us, the album was already written and recorded. He came in and put some solos down. I put a few down, too. It was actually the first time I’ve played solos for Obituary, so that was fun. There are a couple parts where he and I go back and forth, like Henneman and King from Slayer or something (laughs).

Read the complete Obituary Interview

Xecutioner's Return Review
Xecutioner's Return is the band's seventh studio release, and the second album since their reunion a few years ago (they had been apart for about 6 years). Obituary plays classic old school death metal, and this CD is pretty diverse. They play several songs that are fast and loose with a lot of great guitar riffing and solos. They also play a lot of slower, down-tuned doom flavored tracks that are simply crushing.

Xecutioner's Return is a huge improvement over 2005's Frozen In Time. The songwriting is better, the guitar work is a lot better, and overall it's probably their best album since their first few in the early '90s.

Read the complete Obituary - Xecutioner's Return Review

(photo courtesy Candlelight Records)