I must be one of the few out there that seems to prefer the newer Decaptiated material to the older material. Don’t get me wrong, “Spheres of Madness” is a cracking track as is “Post Organic”. But, to me the newer material has much more meat on the bones than the technical riffing that cemented the previous albums with Vitek. Anyway, enough of my wittering and let’s get down to the matter at hand.
Opening up the album, “Impulse” sets the tone for a slightly darker record than Blood Mantra. With the technicality on show in the form of semi-syncopated riffs and blast-beat infused drums, the track sets the tone for the whole album and is cracking opening track to the album. “Deathvaluation” continues the pattern explored on the previous track, but this time with a touch more melody in there. With a great solo from Vogg and a solid beat keeping the track moving, it’s one that’ll go down a treat live.
“Kill The Cult” is when things start to get a little interesting. The pace in comparison to previous tracks is elevated to a similar level to that of the title track of the previous album. It’s arguably one of my favourite tracks on the album simply for the raw energy behind it.
The energy doesn’t just end with that track though, “One Eyed Nation” and “Anger Line” keep the energy flowing and are both tracks that’ll get the pit moving and the crowd-surfers coming. Whilst the latter does slow down for a couple of seconds half way through, the drums of Michał Łysejko keep the adrenaline pumping whilst Vogg injects some melody into the track.
Now, “Earth Scar”. Wow. If ever there was a formula for how to do a modern death metal track, then this one would tick all the boxes. And it has a badass video courtesy of Grupa 13. Check it out at the bottom of this review. The first single of the album, “Never” starts very deceptively with a slower paced guitar riff, almost like in “Carnival is Forever”. In fact, it could be argued that the track is a touch too similar with it’s stripped back sections interlaced with the more ‘extreme’ sections. It’s just different enough though and is another song that’ll go down a storm live.
The final, and shortest, track of the album “Amen” then comes on and it’s a slightly slower affair than the previous tracks. Consisting of the same base pattern repeated over and over with additional parts added and taken away at points, it makes for an unorthodox but suitable ending track to the album.
When I spoke to Vogg a few days ago, he said that he felt as though this album was a step above Blood Mantra and that he was personally very proud of it. As much as it’s obvious that he’s going to say that, I have to agree with him. It feels a lot more raw and aggressive than the previous album was and somehow has much more groove and melody as well. Although some fans might have been expecting a return to the older style of Decapitated, I personally think that this style suits them more. But then again, that is my opinion. I could be hopelessly wrong…
Rating: 8/10
Standout Tracks: Kill This Cult, One Eyed Nation, Earth Scar
Anticult will be released via Nuclear Blast Records on the 7th of July.
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