Innovative experimentation can be a wondrous thing in music; it certainly worked well for boldly original risk-takers such as Miles Davis, David Bowie, Charlie Parker, Prince, Ornette Coleman, and Jimi Hendrix. But realistically, not every recording artist is going to be an innovator; many musicians will inevitably turn to the past for inspiration. And if overtly retro performers can be a part of jazz and the blues, is there any reason why they shouldn't be a part of metal? There isn't -- as long as the people who emulate the past do it well. On their debut album, Executioner, Mantic Ritual (formerly Meltdown) offer a passionate and inspired throwback to 1980s thrash metal. Executioner was originally released in 2007 (back when the Pennsylvania band was still going by Meltdown) and was reissued by Nuclear Blast in March 2009, but stylistically, it might as well have been recorded in the mid- to late '80s.