More international media exposure for the band -
My Last Chapter: "There’s not a moment that’s not infested with a sense of real murky obscurity, not only thanks to the versatile material, but also production-wise. Psychedelic, doomy, sludgy stoner death metal isn’t normally a term I’d use to describe a band’s sound, but based on this album I don’t really know how else to describe The Dead. It’s certainly not for the meek, that’s for sure."
7/10
Zware Metalen: "Een apart werk dat in zijn geheel beluisterd moet worden om grondig te kunnen beoordelen en beleven. Je zult op het net ongetwijfeld allerhande beschrijvingen terugvinden die deze schijf proberen te benaderen maar uiteindelijk is het vooral uw persoonlijke muzikale geschiedenis die asociaties zal leggen, aangezien het zo uiteenlopend old school is."
79/100
Minacious Webzine: "It is comprised of 7 tracks of heavy, slow and dark Death Metal from the lowest pits of the abyss. The music is minimalistic and raw, and really fucking slow, which I really like. If you are into Death/Doom Metal this is a must."
Pest webzine: "This album is composed of 7 tracks lasting for about 45 minutes of Doomy Death Metal with a dirty, sludgy attitude, an album I have enjoyed a lot. Very catchy tunes, interesting, powerful and fat sounding, with lots of grooves all over. Everyone in the band gives their best and the result is great: old-school Death Metal with a heavy Doom atmosphere and dirty sound."
Metal-Rules.com: "This album pretty much leaves its listener for gasping for air; so breath taking and ultimately so hard an experience it does offer content-wise, ripping everyone´s face off slowly but so treacherously. Mike Yee´s gut-deep death grunts are some of the most amazing ones I've heard for a long time – and I simply cannot help admiring the guitar's very crisp, down-tuned tone on this record. The whole musical atmosphere that they have succeeded in creating around the content of this record, is really oppressive and disturbing, in a good way. The album works out like a brimstone-filled pathway to your worst nightmares where there is no return from."
3.5/5
Aristocrazia Webzine: "Inutile continuare a proferire parola alcuna, qui c'è solo da mettere mano al portafogli e far vostra una copia di "Ritual Executions". In attesa di un prossimo lavoro dei The Dead, seguite le uscite della Diabolical Conquest, le premesse sembrano delle migliori e la direzione intra ... presa dovrebbe regalare l'emozioni che ogni old schooler che si rispetti ricerca."
Powermetal.de: "THE DEAD mögen sicher keine Band für jedermann sein, dafür ist ihr Sound zu dreckig, zu rau und vielleicht auch zu extrem. Aber die Australier haben auf ihrem Debüt durchaus Überzeugungsarbeit geleistet und eine starke Alternative für diejenigen geschaffen, die ihren Todesblei nicht sonderlich standardisiert mögen - und obendrauf brachialen Doom mögen."
7.5/10
Metal.de: "Nach einem in den ersten Minuten nur leicht überdurchschnittlichen Eindruck entfaltet THE DEADs Zweitwerk "Ritual Executions" mit zunehmender Dauer (und weiteren Durchläufen) schnell seinen Reiz. Es ist eingängig, ohne auch nur im Geringsten weichgespült zu sein; originell und abwechslungsreich, ohne es zu übertreiben oder zerfahren zu wirken. Mit "Born In A Grave" gibt es auf diesem frischen, enorm Groove-betonten Death(/Doom)-Metal-Album ein wahres Ungeheuer von einem Lied - brutal, doomig und doch unwiderstehlich rockig zugleich."
7/10
Degradation of Morality: "The Dead‘s Ritual Executions (Diabolical Conquest, 2010) is a murky, distorted-to-the-brink-of-ruin slab of sludgy death metal with serious nods to doom. The Dead has a unique style, as I can’t think of another band that’s this groovy and grimy all at once. Their riffs, and the album as a whole, are incredibly dense and take a couple of listens to fully explore all of their murky recesses. But it’s time well spent."
Teeth of the Divine: "Fitting snugly alongside the likes of Grave, Hooded Menace, Runemagick, Autopsy, Coffins, Funerus and such; loping mid-paced lurches meld with a few sloppy blasts filled with sickly cavernous growls. It's all very organic, primitive and natural sounding with nary a triggered blast beat or arpeggio in sight and those wanting a break from the clinical precision of Decrepit Birth and their ilk might do well to check this out."
Chronicles of Chaos: "Neglecting speed and focusing more on the guitar factor, The Dead deliver a dissonant, almost stoner sounding death metal with riffs you actually can hear. The sound is huge, very dirty and underground, but surprisingly hard hitting and clear, while the vocalist is either a fucking inhuman beast or uses some kind of voice processing effect -- otherwise it's not clear how the hell he manages to deliver the vocals he does... The Dead has recorded an apt and unique an album, which is also one of the heaviest around but also quite melodic at times, as strange as it may seem. Think Black Sabbath playing death metal and you won't miss by much."
7/10
Headbangers India: "The Dead aren't human. No, quite the contrary. The Dead are vile creatures, remnants of an ancient race, unknown to man, who crept into the murky depths of the deepest oceans and stayed there for several thousand years until finally surfacing with an album that's just as bloody and dirty as they are. Ritual Executions is the second full length album by the Australian 3 piece deathsquad, released by Mumbai based label Diabolical Conquest Records, and the album decidedly carries influences from their time spent underground; it's dark, it's sludgy and every riff oozes slime and blood."
Thrashpit: "Regardless of whatever it is or what makes The Dead tick, "Ritual Executions" leaves a lasting impression of being one of the most interesting death metal's pieces recorded in recent memory, and their tasteful dichotomy is bound to vacuum a horde of extreme metal cannibals into their feeding pit of starvation and slow-roasted goodness without any skeletons hiding in the closet. Maybe in the backyard, but certainly not the closet."
86%
Cosmic Lava: "Their strength lies on the one hand in combining powerful grooves with technically demanding rhythms, on the other hand in enriching their death metal basis with a well-developed doom/heavy rock edge. Adam Kelcher's gigantic, swirling, tornadic riffs do not lack brutality and Chris Morse demands respect for top notch drumming. Only vocalist Mike Yee fulfils all death metal standards with his inhuman and guttural growls."
