CoC : Decapitated - Winds of Creation : Review

Decapitated - _Winds of Creation_
(Wicked World / Earache, 2000)
by: Paul Schwarz (8.5 out of 10)

Vader may have excelled with their most recent _Litany_ offering, but my advice to Peter and the gang is to check their six pretty carefully over the next few years, 'cause if they start losing it, Decapitated are liable to quickly overtake them. However, Vader seem more than aware of Decapitated's existence; Peter himself gave _Winds of Creation_ its double bass crush and tearing guitar attack down at Poland's Selani studio. And unsurprisingly, yes, there are strong nods to Vader throughout _Winds of Creation_'s forty odd minutes (inclusive of a cover of Slayer's "Mandatory Suicide") but nothing which comes close to plagiarism. Even if there -was- some minor plagiarism here, I'd vote to give Decapitated some leeway simply for the fact that their average age is seventeen and they've belted out a great death metal record. However, this is not a band who need to be given leeway. _Winds of Creation_ stands up to releases by good, well-established and experienced death metal acts, and beats out a fair number of the second-graders with two or sometimes four albums to their name. My biggest gripe is with Sauron's vocals, which, though amply indecipherable and low, are a tad one-dimensional and tend to drown themselves in the music. Fortunately Vogg's guitars and Vitek's drums have more than enough great hooky riffs, time changes, breaks and inspired solos between them to make up for the lack of involving vocals. Between Decapitated and Hate Eternal, Earache's Wicked World really seems to be putting the label back in extreme music's good books; let's hope that Decapitated have more joy with the label than their Polish brothers Vader did back in the early nineties. Here's hoping and wishing these promising youngsters all the best.

(article published 25/5/2000)

CHATS
8/12/2000	P Schwarz	Decapitated: Beheading the Eastern Prophets

ALBUMS
2/27/2006	J Smit	9	Decapitated - Organic Hallucinosis
1/25/2004	J Smit	9	Decapitated - The Negation
7/3/2002	P Schwarz	7.5	Decapitated - Nihility

GIGS
3/23/2004	J Smit	Decapitated / Rotting Christ / Thus Defiled / Anata	Death Comes Ripping