The Approach & the Execution – The Blood March (2011)

With all the new ‘modern’ Metal coming out these days, it is really hard to find bands that are actually doing something to improve things rather than copy everybody else. The Approach & the Execution (TA&TE from now on) does a great job in mixing a bit of everything and somewhat creating a familiar sound that will appeal fans from all areas of Metal and can be commercialized in the current ‘trendy’ Metal markets and maybe in some underground ones as well.  

With a very diverse approach to Metal the band combines fast paced guitar work and melodic sections of Melodic Death Metal. They also mix several styles of vocals ranging from female clean vocals, growls, semi-shrieks and clean male vocals creating very interesting vocal sections. If this wasn’t enough, there are some clear indications of traditional Heavy Metal elements in the supper catchy and powerful chorus sections in the last songs of the album. All of these elements sound like the perfect recipe for disaster, but the band somehow manages to pulls it off graciously.

Starting with a very pretentious intro (something out of a Audi commercial), the band quickly moves into solid guitar riffs and solos that will put many kiddies to shame, and all of this is only in the intro song. With the ‘real’ opening track “The March of the Guillotine” the band shows their guitar skills on the opening section, very much like Children of Bodom and similar bands. The combination of growls and semi-shrieks is pretty well crafted, and then the clean vocal leads come (both female and male) and this song moves into another level of greatness.

In an eerily similar way to the classic “Hollowed by thy Name”, the album’s next song “Alas, the Awakening” is very catchy in the beginning. This quickly progresses to a mixture of several vocal styles and very well crafted changes in the music. This is pretty much how most of the songs are crafted; they all feature very well constructed structures that change over the course of the song. Their approach of growls/shrieks then clean vocal leads seems to be a bit formulaic at points (like on “Earth’s Final Solstice”), but the quality of these sections keeps them entertaining.

There is no shortage of riffs, melodic sections, and solos through the album and in songs like “Conversing the Guillotine”, “Death’s Sentence”, and “On the Day that Sets Us Free”, the band will blow you away with some of their guitar acrobatics and a very solid bass guitar line.

In general, TA&TE has managed to release an excellent album that should set the standard for many bands that don’t even have 10% of the talent of this band and yet they have a recording deal. While there are plenty of modern Metal elements that might be rejected by Metal ‘traditionalists’, the band surely makes up for them with intelligent songwriting and brilliant execution. Any Metal fan should respect this band for their talent and creativity, so be sure to pick up a copy of this excellent release and keep an eye out for this band.

Release: March 2011

Country: USA