Hexecutioner – Tornit

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · July 2, 2025

Hexecutioner is a stoner/ doom/ sludge rock band from Seattle, Washington. Formed in 2021, they have released two full length albums thus far, 2024’s Pagan Ground and their latest, 2025’s Tornit. The band consists of Erin Gravina on guitar, vocals, and bass, and Bryce Hebner on drums. Daniel McManus played bass on Pagan Ground. The now two-piece band released Tornit on May 30th 2025. It contains four tracks at thirty six minutes long.

“Skookum” begins with a quick sample and then rips into an ultra-fuzzy riff. The sound is thick like molasses and the music sounds almost industrial. The pounding drums are machine like but with excellent fills placed throughout the song. The one rhythmic chugging of the music is heavy and hypnotic. Erin Gravina’s vocals are hard moving but mesmerizing. The repetitive sludge filled riffing is a head grinder. Just before the 6:40 mark, the dense and discordant bass takes hold of the song and gives it just enough variance to keep the riff a rolling. It’s a great opening track that works with the “less is more” ethos. The second track called “Submission” begins with what sounds like rain falling and ambient guitar chords until the viscous riff kicks in. The tones are distorted and devastating. The vocals are laid back and melodic in connection to the hammering music and blends in perfectly. This one has a heavy ear bleeding of doom connected with the brutal guitar tones. The song is over seven minutes long and is a human wrecking machine.

“Bind My Foe” starts with the drums and blazes into a mammoth riff of destruction. The sludge drenched riffs are covered in fuzz and conjoins nicely with the percussive pummeling. The riffs change up a bit on this song but it’s still a heavy cascade of bulldozing doom. The elegant vocals once again suits the musical repetition. The eleven minute monster menacing song is darkly pleasing in a twisted sort of way. I think Erin’s haunting and soothing voice is what ties these head ripping tones nicely together. I’m not usually a big fan of long and drawn out doom but I am really digging what Hexecutioner is delivering.

The fourth and final track is called “Rogue”. Beginning with the sounds of chirping insects, the guitars enter next. The dense doom sounds are back in full force. The vocals once again encapsulates the song into a very cerebral sonic enjoyment. The massive beating of the music gets cemented in your head. Tornit is a lean and mean record that I enjoy quite a bit. When my state of mind craves this stuff, Hexecutioner absolutely crushes and conveys the unabashed cranial beat down in four brutal tracks.