Decapitated

The Negation (Earache)
By Tim Den

Decapitated get better with each album. Hard to believe, since their first two were already filled to the brim with sonically-perfect, brutally-satisfying slabs of deathblasts. But believe it, folks: The Negation is the best one yet. The band, now a quintet with new guitarist Hiro (and almost at the end of their teenage years [heh heh]), have further refined the duality of insanity and memorability. Tightening the reigns around arrangements, The Negation is catchier than their last full-length (Nihility) without losing an inch of the players’ proficiency.

In fact, some of the band’s best grooves ever are here: The title track, “Lying and Weak,” and “The Empty Throne” all boast floor-clearing breakdowns. In between, claustrofuck grindbombs explode in every crevice, accelerating the sonic plain into ludicrous speed without ever spilling over (unlike the debut, Winds of Creation). Even the solos, which were once more noise than “solos,” have taken on an Extol/Pestilence-like intelligence. Marvelous.

As a friend of mine stated recently, Decapitated are the best “pure” death metal band today. You need all their records.
(43 West 38th St. 2nd Fl. New York, NY 10018)