DECAPITATED - Blood Mantra

October 24, 2014, 9 years ago

(Nuclear Blast)

David Perri

Rating: 7.5

review black death decapitated

DECAPITATED - Blood Mantra

There's a wholly triumphant moment on Blood Mantra's title track where it becomes clear that Decapitated is writing, both spiritually and literally, in ways that make the band now very, very reminiscent of Sepultura's ascent and peak during the late '80s and early '90s. Despite your initial eyebrow raise and skepticism, stay with me here: the similarity between the Poles (Decapitated) and the Brazilians (Seps) isn't as far off as one might initially believe, as both groups began as extreme forays in an extreme genre (witness the brutal death of Decapitated's Winds Of Creation and the brutality, end stop, of Sepultura's Morbid Visions) and both evolved to incorporate progressive layers before perfecting groove-loving palettes and priorities. Blood Mantra is, by far, Decapitated's most accessible effort, which is usually shorthand for 'sellout!' or 'the album goddamn sucks' in our world, but that's not the case here as Decapitated has executed a record that is full of vitality, vigor and groove-aligned extremity that is essentially a linear re-drawing of its back catalogue (it must be acknowledged: Decapitated's impressive discography is so underrated it borders on the obscene). So, no, this is not the brutal death of Nihility and it's not the Voivod-condemned-to-the-hell-of-all-hells that is Organic Hallucionis, but it's Arise and Chaos A.D.-era Sepultura for the underground, even down to those Max-esque song titles (witness: "Instinct", "Blindness", "Red Sun") and their subsequent Max-esque moments, Decapitated taking the Sepultura paradigm but keeping it true and deathafied for us extreme metal lifers. Y'know, where Max had stars in his ambition-laced eyes, Decapitated have but packed metal venues (hi there Foufounes Electriques and the Opera House) and that'll be enough, thank you very much.



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