Artist: Execrated
Country: Romania
Label: Self-Released
Formats: Digital EP
Year: 2026
When I stumbled upon Occultor a couple of days ago, I also found out that three of them were also in a Death Metal band called Execrated and were about to release their debut EP. Well, that debut EP was released in the first week of 2026 and comes in the form of ‘Mortal Crucifixion’. And while I was not very impressed with the majority of the Romanian Death Metal releases of the past few years, this debut EP is definitely worth checking out.
Not that these lads (and lass) offer anything even remotely original, but nearly 20-minute EP is certainly entertaining. In five tracks we’re being treated on some old school Death Metal that reminds of (very) old Therion, old Sinister, old Gorefest and old Edge Of Sanity. Which means that the overall brutality is being served with a good dose of atmosphere. Even the use of keyboards is not shunned, giving ‘Mortal Crucifixion’ a thoroughly authentic feeling. But even when these musicians are visibly very young, they absolutely know their craft. Not only in the way they master their instruments, evident in the slightly complex song structures, but also in the way all five songs flow organically and naturally. Not only as individual songs, but also as a whole. There’s enough engaing dynamics and provocative leads to keep all of the presented songs interesting. As a true bonus, the production is very fitting. Rather dry, but with enough depth and a some emphasis to the equally dry sounding grunts that underscores the feeling that this could very well have been a recording from some three decades ago.
At times, I feel rather pessimistic about the future of Death Metal. With the exception of a few bands, the current standard of the genre is rather disappointing. However, young bands like this give me hope and demonstrate that there is still plenty of good Death Metal out there, thankfully!
