Year: 2022
Total Time: 37:12
Label: Nuclear Blast
The Polish Death Metal machine named DECAPITATED, after five years since its latest full-length release, strikes back with “Cancer Culture” album! The band has been through a lot during its roughly twenty five year career and I wish they finally find stability and keep on producing top quality and modern Death Metal. A few words on DECAPITATED; it started out at 1997, as a quartet, and consisted of teenagers whose dream was to create the most technical and brutal band of its era. In 2007, while the band was on a European tour, a bus accident takes the life of drummer “Vitek” and puts the singer of the band “Covan” in a coma, forcing DECAPITATED to go on a hiatus. However, two years later, the founding member and guitarist “Vogg” -after a quick collaboration with VADER- announces that he plans to reform the band. Since then, DECAPITATED have gone through many lineup changes, as far as the rhythmic section is concerned and currently without a permanent bass player. Worthy of mention is the fact that the well-known drummer “Krimh” was a member of the band for three years (2009-2012). Finally, I should mention that all four members of the band were arrested in 2017 while touring the U.S.A., which deprived the band of a European tour alongside KREATOR. Obviously, all of them were found “not guilty” on all charges and that is the reason we are now writing for their latest album “Cancer Culture”…
“Cancer Culture” consists of 10 songs and has a total running time of a bit more than 37 minutes. The album’s artwork is definitely spot-on and matches the feeling of the album absolutely. I like the fact that it breaks the norm of classic Death Metal cover artworks being all about blood, guts and brutality which is something we haven’t seen in a DECAPITATED album so far. “Cancer Culture” features JINJER singer Tatiana Shmayluk on “Hello Death” and MACHINE HEAD’s mastermind Robb Flynn on Iconoclast, both on vocals. As far as composition goes, one would say that “Cancer Culture” moves on similar patterns with the previous stuff the band has released. Devastating and crushing riffs, few solos and merciless drumming are the key parts. More or less, a usual Death Metal album right? What really makes “Cancer Culture” stand out is that it is an emotionally intense record, with interesting melodies, technical points and an almost melancholic aura, but without deviating into Melodic Death paths. It’s an album that exudes emotion, but keeps character and bursts out when and where it needs to, thus keeping the interest undiminished.
DECAPITATED show their ferocious intentions right from the start, with the intro “From The Nothingness With Love” ending perfectly at the start of the album’s self-titled song “Cancer Culture”. Then, we have the more melodic “Just A Cigarette”, which was released a few months before the album as an EP which also contained the songs “Hello Death” and “Cancer Culture”. The devastating “No Cure” takes the lead and reminds us of DECAPITATED’s more technical roots, before the excellent song “Hello Death” arrives, with Tatiana Shmayluk’s vocals rightfully stealing the show. Similar stuff goes on in “Iconoclast” with Robb Flynn on the -mainly- clean vocals. In “Suicidal Space Programme” the Poles return to their older works, which had a more technical nature, and the same “paranoia” goes on in “Locked”, which is only eighty seconds long. Going towards the end of the album, we have the highly melodic and melancholic “Hours As Battlegrounds” which creates the ideal atmosphere for the finale with the amazing “Last Supper”.
In short, DECAPITATED continue to produce top-notch records, not being afraid to try new things while staying true to their original style. “Cancer Culture” is an album worthy of the band’s history which keeps the Polish Death Metal flag high.
Rating: 7,5/10
Editor: Vaggos “Arkouda” Katsis
Related Link: DECAPITATED – Official Page
