Post by thesoundmonitor on Apr 3, 2004 7:52:01 GMT -5
DECAPITATED
The Negation
(Earache)
The establishment of death metal was seemingly underpinned by a willingness to confront, to challenge musical norms, and a desire to scare the pants off as many people as possible. As such, it was quite remarkable how quickly the genre established a set of seemingly unbreakable rules, namely:
1. Thou must have throaty, incomprehensible grunts for vocals.
2. Thou must have a drummer that uses double bass kicks almost
exclusively, and frequently 'blasts' the snares really quickly.
3. Thou must have seemingly random, atonal guitar solos.
4. Thy lyrics, artwork and band name should be about nasty stuff.
These rules worked for a little while, but eventually they became like a straitjacket that stifled creativity, and bands either evolved into something else, moved on, or faded from view.
Anyway, in case you haven't guessed, Decapitated are a death metal band, and this is a review of their album called The Negation. And, rest assured, the four key rules have been faithfully obeyed. Having said that, they have done a brilliant job within the somewhat limiting constraints imposed by these commandments.
This album is technically brilliant, with a powerful, unyielding guitar and thunderous but crisp drums. The vocals are typically menacing, but I can't comment on the lyrics because I couldn't understand them (I'm assuming they'll be included in the full commercial release). Production is second-to-none.
To my mind, death is always at it's best when the insane thrash drumming and chaotic riffs give way to a more traditional rocking metal riff. The pent up tension from the aural onslaught often provides a great platform for such head-bobbing moments. Thankfully there are quite a few of these moments throughout The Negation, particularly on the opening track ('The Fury'), the title track, and a couple of others.
My one hope is that now they've perfected this style, Decapitated will, like their forebears, keep adding to their box of tricks, and look for influences outside the confines of their genre.
By Matt Harris
Artist website: www.decapitated.net/
Label website: www.earache.com
Buy this album: www.earache.com
The Negation
(Earache)
The establishment of death metal was seemingly underpinned by a willingness to confront, to challenge musical norms, and a desire to scare the pants off as many people as possible. As such, it was quite remarkable how quickly the genre established a set of seemingly unbreakable rules, namely:
1. Thou must have throaty, incomprehensible grunts for vocals.
2. Thou must have a drummer that uses double bass kicks almost
exclusively, and frequently 'blasts' the snares really quickly.
3. Thou must have seemingly random, atonal guitar solos.
4. Thy lyrics, artwork and band name should be about nasty stuff.
These rules worked for a little while, but eventually they became like a straitjacket that stifled creativity, and bands either evolved into something else, moved on, or faded from view.
Anyway, in case you haven't guessed, Decapitated are a death metal band, and this is a review of their album called The Negation. And, rest assured, the four key rules have been faithfully obeyed. Having said that, they have done a brilliant job within the somewhat limiting constraints imposed by these commandments.
This album is technically brilliant, with a powerful, unyielding guitar and thunderous but crisp drums. The vocals are typically menacing, but I can't comment on the lyrics because I couldn't understand them (I'm assuming they'll be included in the full commercial release). Production is second-to-none.
To my mind, death is always at it's best when the insane thrash drumming and chaotic riffs give way to a more traditional rocking metal riff. The pent up tension from the aural onslaught often provides a great platform for such head-bobbing moments. Thankfully there are quite a few of these moments throughout The Negation, particularly on the opening track ('The Fury'), the title track, and a couple of others.
My one hope is that now they've perfected this style, Decapitated will, like their forebears, keep adding to their box of tricks, and look for influences outside the confines of their genre.
By Matt Harris
Artist website: www.decapitated.net/
Label website: www.earache.com
Buy this album: www.earache.com