The Album Reader Reviews:

	Title: Winds of Creation Artist: Decapitated Label: Wicked World Release Date: 4/11/00	There are currently 3 Reader Reviews of this album. Average Rating: 4.67 Go to Judgment Committee Reviews of this Album
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Submitted by Kefka X (11/13/02):
I remember a friend from an old record store by my house just giving this cd to me excitedly. I looked at the band name, dismissed it as being another poorly produced death metal band with a lot of indiscernible blast beats (which is kind of biased of me, I know...). Anyways, I gave the cd a listen to in the store and wow...this knocked me on my ass.
This will probably go down in my collection as one of my all time favourite death metal cds. Granted, this will probably not be a classic of the genre (primarily because no one has really heard of this band...yet) but because it came at a right time for me. This album re-affirmed my faith that brutal, sick death metal is not becoming a blur of repetitive blast beats or metalcore breakdowns. Oh, and I also bought a Mortician album a week before listening to this.
The production on Winds of Creation is STELLAR. And it's LOUD. If you're one of those people who bitched about Suffocation's classic(?) Breeding the Spawn album being too quiet, this album will probably make you climax. It's very in-your-face. The guitars and drums are crystal-clear; you'll be able to make out each note of each chop and riff. Which is good, because there's a lot to make out of here.
To categorize, Decapitated is Polish death-metal. Stylistically, Decapitated comes across as a cross between Vader, OLD Deicide and Suffocation. The Vader influence is evident here, and it should be expected; Vader's front man Peter produced the album.
The shining quality of this album is its guitar work, which is phenomenal. The riffs are swamped with brutality (trust me, this is BRUTAL) and are topped off with a remarkable groove. Do you like those breakdowns that Vader does in the middle of a blur of speed that just has you whipping your hair back and forth? Imagine that times 10. And the drums beautifully complement each guitar lick. Each musician moves with the flow of the guitar work, creating a sea of sonic death that is intricate in its beauty yet doesn't leave you with the embarrassment that liking a Dream Theater album would (that one's for you, Abyss).
Final judgment? Winds of Creation is a beyond-the-call-of duty cd that screams to the masses that straight-up death metal isn't dead: it's just spawning a new generation. The best part of it is that these guys are only 17. Yes, 17. It was only months after I bought this cd that I found this out. The technicality of this album reads maturity, these guys rank with the veterans of death all over the world. Just give them a little more publicity and you've got a new rival in the world of metal. Damn this album is fucking great.
My only complaint is that the vocals are near indescribable. It's to the point where if you try to read the lyrics sheet while listening to the album you're going to give yourself vertigo. But hey, who cares? It's death metal, and you're probably not going to focus on making out what the vocalist is trying to say when you're too busy thrashing.
Three word review: Change my shorts.

Submitted by Musashi (1/17/01):
The other day I came home from Earache Records with a stack of CDs that they had given me. I always love getting free CDs and this time was no exception. More than a couple of people had told me to check out Decapitated, a new Earache signing. I figured with all the buzz going on about them, it would find its way into my CD player before too long.
So here I am. I just put the CD in my stereo 4 minutes ago and have already started writing about it. As soon as this CD starts, I know there is something special going on here. I have to start getting my thoughts down immediately. These guys are monsters. The drummer is fast as hell. The riffs are furious. The vocals are your typical cookie monster style. There is a great guitar solo on track 2, "Blessed". Wow! This is really turning out to be an awesome album and I'm only on track 3, "The First Damned". The production is really clean. You can hear everything really clearly. My only complaint is that the vocals should be lower and the guitars higher in the mix. Holy crap! Another guitar solo.
By track 4, "Way To Salvation," I'm convinced that this is an awesome album that I'm going to spend a lot of time listening to. Unfortunately, I have to go back to work so I can't keep writing about this album. It is abundantly clear after 4 songs that his is an intense death metal album that is going to wind up on a lot of best of 2001 lists 11 months from now. Go and listen to this album right away. Did I mention these guys are all teenagers? Well, that's what someone told me. I hope they are old enough to go on tour because I want to see Decapitated live.
Decapitated embody many of the elements I look for in a good metal band: powerful drumming, interesting guitar riffs, shredding solos and overall intensity.
PS - By the time I'm done proofreading and am ready to send this to the editor, the CD is on track 7 and still kicking my ass!

Submitted by Jonathan E.C. (10/15/00):
When I first heard this cd I said "Oh well, another death metal band that plays fast and brutal music." But after hearing it again a couple times and after reading that these guys are teenagers, I changed my mind about them. They have a great European sound and complexity, that somewhat reminds me of INIQUITY, and good 'n' heavy guitar riffs (in my opinion they should be a lot heavier than they are) with fast riffs that you can even say sometimes sound blackyish and sometimes sound like SLAYER/VADER. Although they remind me sometimes of VADER, they still have their originality that makes you sometimes rip your head off. But now'a'days you can't find anything that doesn't remind you of older stuff... the drumming is fast and brutal, but not getting too fast and grindy. The vox are o.k., deep growls but he doesn't have any changes, always the same voice. This is a very good production (by PETER from VADER) for a first cd. Overall, a great band with a great first recording, some songs are really bangy like "WAY TO SALVATION" and "BLESSED," but not to blow your pants off. But still you will find pointless tracks like "DANCE MACABRE," at first I thought it was a CELTIC FROST cover. The SLAYER cover is pretty cool but totally not in place. The cover art is with too much computer involving it. The lyrics are not that bad, talking about stuff you don't expect (I expected the lyrics to be about bloody decapitations, but no.) I think that if they would get a little more original they would be a very good band, one of the best in the scene today. Listen to this debut from this great band, bang your head and enjoy!

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