Decapitated
Carnival Is Forever ()
Wydane przez Nuclear Blast RecordsRok wydania Kraj PolandNapisał Wouter4
The career of Polish death metal act Decapitated was brimming with promise since the beginning. From their humble beginnings of their very Vader-inspired first records (“Winds Of Creation”, “Nihility”) to the blasting intensity of “The Negation” and more experimental sounds of “Organic Hallucinosis”, the band rightly received accolades for their accomplishments. “Carnival Is Forever”, their debut for Germany’s conglomerate Nuclear Blast, is an entirely different beast – which given the circumstances isn’t entirely unexpectant, yet such a drastic shift in direction was something nobody saw coming. Decapitated has always been heavily indebted to legendary stalwarts Vader and in lesser degrees to early Deicide, all delivered with technical finesse and gusto. “Carnival Is Forever” yet ditches the band’s patented death metal stylings and dives headfirst into the groove/post-hardcore realms of Pantera and the pretentious math metal of Sweden’s Meshuggah. Remaining original member Vogg has surrounded himself by a mostly Polish line-up, so there isn’t a shortage of skill, willpower or experience. This new direction abandons the riff torrents of old, sticking to the formula of repeating a handful of riffs and keeping things simple. Some of the compositions even border on the dreaded nu-metal territory. The drumming is as intense as ever, yet the biggest offender is new frontman Rafal Piotrowski. His barked rhetoric reminds of latter-day Max Cavalera, Phil Anselmo and Jens Kidman. Not exactly the type vocals that fit Decapitated’s earlier material, nor their current. Once coined death metal’s brightest hope, the Poles have delivered their first divisive record in their career. Hopefully in due course they’ll return to what made them famous, because this certainly is worth of the Decapitated brand. This is perhaps the steepest fall from grace since Kataklysm’s mediocre post-“The Temple Of Knowledge” output, Machine Head’s perpetual trendhopping, Pantera’s discrete sell-out to jocks and trailer park trash and Cryptopsy’s ill-advised foray into mall- and deathcore. This does not bode well for the future.
www.nuclearblast.de
