Artist: Decapitated
Label: Wicked World
Release Date: 4/11/00
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Title: Winds of Creation Artist: Decapitated Label: Wicked World Release Date: 4/11/00 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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5 | ||
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4 | ||
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4 | ||
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Go to Reader Reviews | ||
Abyss's Review:
What on first listen seemed like just another carbon copy Death Metal record, Winds of Creation hits with much more brevity on repeated spins. This band has come out with a technically proficient album that is very much inspired by Slayer and earlier era Morbid Angel. Now we've heard Morbid Angel clones before, but this band does it well enough to get the job done. Blistering riffs and drums highlight this album full of well placed harmonics, start-stop changes, and well laid out brutality.
"They just have to develop their own personality, and the world will have another killer Death Metal band to deal with." With the exception of the pointless "Dance Macabre" (which sounds like those boring Black Metal intros that you wish were omitted on the album, except this one is two and a half minutes long) this album first gets you interested, and then pulls you in. In fact, the songs are so well constructed and written that the cover of "Mandatory Suicide" comes across as just plain boring.
If this album has one drawback it's that they seem less their own band and more a derivative of various influences. From what I gathered this band is still very young, and I look forward to how they will come into their own. They already have chops and songwriting and execution on their side, they just have to develop their own personality, and the world will have another killer Death Metal band to deal with.
Rating Revised for Metal Judgment Anniversary
Death's Review:
Well these winds of creation have whipped up an interesting collection of rapid-fire death metal riffing, sure to please any of you with half a brain and a taste for technical death. Decapitated is a mixture of Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel and late-era Dark Angel, with an extra dash of pure speed to spice things up, and that alone should be enough to interest you. Once you discover that their fun, death-metal vocal cover of Slayer's "Mandatory Suicide" (a highly competent performance) is one of the worst songs on the album, you should begin to realize that Decapitated aren't fucking around.
If you like tight execution of bludgeoning speed/death flavored with both technical precision and brutal aggression, you must check out Decapitated now. On early listens the album may come across as simply good death metal, but a closer focus on the individuality of the riffing and the power brought to bear on the songwriting arrangements, you gain a deeper respect for the record. Not as grindingly regurgitating as Dying Fetus (though vocally carrying elements of that same extraordinarily low-pitched, blood-vomiting style), nor as overtly riffy as the Crown or even Immortal, instead Decapitated come off as if Chris Barnes has taken over Dark Angel's vocal slot on the record after Time Does Not Heal.
"You people want this record, you just might not know it yet." Death metallers: check this one out. Thrashers: consider it if you like things on the brutal side. Power metallers... um... you might want to blow this one off. Jag Panzer they are not. But seriously, Decapitated deserve to enter into the metal discourse. Let's hope that now that certain label business has been squared away, this record can gain the attention of its core audience. You people want this record, you just might not know it yet.
Hel's Review:
Here's something that keeps troubling me - shouldn't a band with a name like "Decapitated" have a more destructive-sounding album title? It seems like Winds of Cremation would be a much more fitting title than Winds of Creation, don't you think? Regardless, the music encompassed within this pretty title is pure death metal brutality.
"The music encompassed within this pretty title is pure death metal brutality." Reading the press on these guys, you'd think we were talking about a metal version of Hanson. Not so, these guys aren't brothers (as far as I could figure out), but moreover, they actually play interesting music. And I wouldn't just say that because they do a cool "Mandatory Suicide" cover. The more I listened to this disc, the more captivated I became.
The overall musicianship on Winds of Creation is strong. In particular, there is some really stand-out guitar work and drumming to be found. For example, check out the guitar solo during "Nine Steps", and listen to some impressive skin-pounding on "Blessed". Unfortunately, most of this brilliance is lost within the muddle that often accompanies concomitant rapid riffing and drumming. The other instrument that is often lost in this muddle is the vocals.
The vocals are, in fact, the weakest link in the band. I found them to be completely indecipherable - and I actually do understand guttural vocals in general - but that isn't even the real problem. The true weakness of Sauron's style lies in its monotony. He sings nearly exactly the same note for every word in every song. Given his tender age, I strongly believe he will mature, master the subtleties of enunciation and pitch, and become a formidable vocalist.
"I firmly believe that this band will become a force in the metal world." In fact, I firmly believe that this band will become a force in the metal world. Consider this, if you were a teenager and you played like this, can you imagine what you'd sound like after a year of touring? Personally, I consider touring to be the ultimate forger of talent - if you don't get better after playing every single night for months, you're not going to get better. I can guarantee these young men will and I'm already psyched to hear more.
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