DECAPITATED — Carnival Is Forever (review)

DECAPITATED — Carnival Is Forever album cover

Album · 2011 · Technical Death Metal

3.5/5 · 2011-10-05
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.