UMUR "Carnival is Forever" is the 5th full-length studio album by Polish death/ thrash metal act Decapitated. The album was released in July 2011 by Nuclear Blast Records. The lineup on "Carnival is Forever" is almost completely different from the lineup that recorded "Organic Hallucinosis (2006)" as Decapitated were involved in a serious tour bus accident in October 2007 in Gomel, Belarus where drummer Witold "Vitek" Kieltyka and lead vocalist Adrian "Covan" Kowanek were badly injured. Covan survived the crash but was seriously injured and was unable to continue playing music while Vitek died from his injuries on the 2nd of November 2007. Bassist Marcin "Martin" Rygiel also left the band following the tragic incident. So guitarist/ main composer Waclaw "Vogg" Kieltyka (brother of Vitek) put the band on hold and spent some of the intermediate years touring with Vader. For a long time the future of Decapitated was uncertain. However in March 2009 Vogg announced that he was looking for new members for Decapitated as he had opted to continue the band. New members of the lineup are drummer Kerim "Krimh" Lechner, lead vocalist Rafal Piotrowski and bassist Filip "Heinrich" Halucha.

Even though Vogg was always the main composer in Decapitated, the music on "Carnival is Forever" has changed quite a lot compared to the older material. There was never a question that all four previous releases were death metal albums but "Carnival is Forever" tests the boundaries of death metal and much of the album should probably be tagged thrash metal rather than death metal. While there are some growling vocals on the album they are not many. The vocals are in the aggressive vein of a vocalist like Jens Kidman (Meshuggah) rather than the barking Barney imitation of former vocalist Covan. Musically speaking Meshuggah is actually also a rather valid reference. Razor sharp odd metered chugging technical riffing and a generally powerful and aggressive sound. Decapitated are more straight forward/less twisted than a band like Meshuggah though but that shouldn´t be interpreted as if Decapitated play simple or that their music is structurally simple. The music is very technically complex and as always it´s hard not to be extremely impressed by Vogg´s ability to write crushingly heavy and razor sharp riffs. The man is a riff meister extraordinaire. The three new members also deliver with conviction, but especially the vocal style of new lead vocalist Rafal Piotrowski, will probably divide the waters. Personally I would have preferred a more regular growling vocal style but there´s no denying that Rafal Piotrowski´s vocal style fits the new thrashier direction pretty well.

Decapitated always understood the art of limitation and that virtue continues on "Carnival is Forever". 42:45 minutes of playing time distributed over 8 tracks. That´s what you get. And that is IMO a perfect length for an album featuring music that is as relatively extreme as the material is on this album. The length of the album ensures that it has impact all the way through and that you want to give it more spins when it is over. "Keep the listener hungry" seems to be the motto.

"Carnival is Forever" is the proof that Decapitated have survived the serious crisis that was a consequence of the fatal tour bus accident in 2007. They´ve developed their style in a thrashier direction but they haven´t lost their identity or their trademark sound. Vogg´s clever riffs and playing style ensure that something like that will never happen. A 3.5 - 4 star rating is warranted.

Wilytank 2011 sees another release by Decapitated. This is one Polish band that has made some pretty interesting, but 'Carnival Is Forever' shot and missed.

One of the bigger problems is present even with the first song, "The Knife". I really don't like the sloppy djent chugs in the music here. Come on, Decapitated! There was a point where you didn't need that! I really don't care for the hardcore sounding Phil Anselmo style vocals either. In fact, in some songs like "Carnival Is Forever", sound like sped up deathcore!(?)

This was a failed experiment here. Nothing about this album is very memorable after you get done listening to it. Sure the production makes it sound heavy, but it lacks the essential content to go along with it.

Skip this.

bartosso The last Decapitated album recorded with participation of a fantastic drummer Witold "Vitek" Kiełtyka before his tragic death in tour bus accident. It is also their best and most innovative record to date... and one of the most interesting releases of last decade in the genre, valued by such big names as Tomas Haake from Meshuggah. If the accident didn't happen, that would be a watershed in Decapitated career, a transitional record between Vader-influenced death metal band and new wave tech death metal group with its own vision and way to create music.

After reading the title it's easy to conclude that the album has something in common with Meshuggah. The same with song titles - a lot of "visuals", "organics" and other "delusions". The music itself is fortunately only slightly influenced by The Swedes. Actually, this is quite original and perfectly executed technical death metal with poly-rhythmic approach and fantastic riffing where discordant parts alternate with normal power chords and typically death metal gallop of staccatos. Every sound is executed with perfection, every song constructed with professionalism typical of musically educated people. The drumming deserves special mention here - the parts Vitek plays are very creative and dynamic, combining death metal blasts and fills with more experimental elements. His drumming in two first tracks is especially breathtaking.

This fantastic prog tech death metal will appeal to both all fans of old school tech death and people looking for some innovation in extreme music. Decapitated recorded a great album with some good ideas but there still would be much more to explore and discover. I hope they will resume their career but I know it might be difficult decision after such a terrible tragedy.

UMUR Winds of Creation is the debut full-length studio album by Polish death metal act Decapitated. The album was released in May 2000 by Earache Records. Winds of Creation was re-issued in October 2007 with a bonus DVD called Live in Nottingham. There has been no lineup changes since the band was formed in 1996, so it´s the same four guys playing on Winds of Creation, who also recorded the Cemeteral Gardens (1997) and The Eye of Horus (1998) demos. Allthough the band had existed for 4 years at this point, there´re not a single member of the band, who had turned 20 yet. Drummer Vitek was, as the youngest member of the band, only 16 years old when Winds of Creation was released.

Winds of Creation is basically a re-recording of The Eye of Horus demo. All 7 tracks from the demo are also featured on Winds of Creation. Winds of Creation and Human's Dust are the only "new" songs on the album. The lack on new material doesn´t matter much though because the songs from The Eye of Horus demo certainly deserves to be released to a wider audience. The music on Winds of Creation is brutal and techncially well played death metal. The music is generally busy and fast-paced. The band understand the art of variation though, so there are heavier parts on the album too. While I´m extremely impressed by the technical skill of such young musicians, Sauron´s vocals unfortunately leave me cold. Brutal undecipherable growls that lack variation, punch and intensity.

The production is powerful and brutal and suits the music well.

The instrumental part of Winds of Creation deserves a 4 star rating but as I have a hard time enjoying the vocals by Sauron, I will give a 3.5 star rating. I realise that the vocals are probably an aquired taste though, so others might not have the same problem with them as I do.

UMUR The First Damned is a compilation album by Polish death metal act Decapitated. The compilation consists of the band´s two demos Cemeteral Gardens (1997) and The Eye of Horus (1998). In addition to the demo tracks there are two live tracks recorded on the Thrash ´Em All Fetival in 2000. The First Damned was released in 2000 by Metal Mind Productions.

The music on the compilation is brutal and techncially well played death metal. The track order puts the The Eye of Horus demo tracks first and after that the tracks from the Cemeteral Gardens. The two live tracks are the last tracks on the compilation. The reason for the reversed track order ( in the sense that the latest demo tracks appear before the oldest) is quite obvious when listening to The First Damned. The tracks from The Eye of Horus are really strong and the sound quality is better than on many regular studio releases by other bands. Guitarist Vogg´s trademark razor sharp and brutal technical riffing is already this early in the band´s career defining for the band´s sound. The rest of the band are also very well playing. Sauron´s vocals were always the weak link in the chain on the early releases by Decapitated. That´s also the case here. They are deep growling and undecipherable. Way too monotone for my taste. The tracks from Cemeteral Gardens are pretty good too but not of as high quality as the tracks from The Eye of Horus. The sound quality drops some and it´s the same with the songwriting. The only time Vogg´s signature riffing is on full display is in the title track from the demo. The two live tracks are allright but nothing special to my ears. I see them as a kind of bonus.

Personally I´m really tired of bands releasing their crappy demos and rehearsal tapes on more available formats later in their career, but when the quality is as high as it is on The First Damned, I have no complaints. The fact that the demo tracks were recorded when the average age of the band members was around 15 - 16 years makes the experience of listening to music of this high quality an almost surreal experience. It´s obvious that the band still needed to mature a bit more in the songwriting department but The First Damned is still a very worthy purchase for fans of brutal and technically well played death metal. While the tracks from The Eye of Horus deserve a 3 -3.5 star rating, I would rate the rest of the tracks with 2.5 - 3 stars, so I think that a 3 star rating is warranted.