Decapitated - Carnal is Forever (2011)

Genre: Technical Death Metal

Release Date: July 12, 2011

1. The Knife (4:31)

2. United (5:24)

3. Carnal is Forever (8:49)

4. Homo Sum (4:33)

5. 404 (5:08)

6. A View from a Hole (6:11)

7. Pest (3:36)

8. Silence (4:18)

Decapitated’s fifth studio album, Carnal is Forever, is a landmark album for a number of reasons.  It is the first album they’ve released to feature a photographic image as the cover, as opposed to artwork made from scratch.  It also is their first album to feature clean guitar parts.  Most importantly however, Carnal is Forever represents the comeback album for Decapitated after the tragic death of their drummer and founding bandmate, Witolk “Vitek” Kieltyka, in 2007.

Vitek passed away after sustaining serious injuries in a bus accident while Decapitated was on tour in Belarus.  He was only 23 years old.

After Vitek’s death it was uncertain whether Decapitated would continue on or not.  Vitek wasn’t simply a band member – he was also the brother of lead guitarist Waclaw “Vogg” Kieltkya, who formed the band with Vitek in 1996 when they were just kids (Vitek was 12 and Vogg was 15).  Vitek was one of the centerpieces of Decapitated, both musically and personally, and he would be very difficult to replace.

Vitek was 15 years old when Decapitated recorded Winds of Creation

Decapitated went on hiatus in the aftermath of this tragedy.  Adrian “Covan” Kowanek, Decapitated’s lead vocalist since 2005, left the band during this period of disbandment.  He also suffered major head injuries in the 2007 tour bus accident and was even in a coma for a period of time.  His slow recovery and the hiatus led him to leave Decapitated.  He’s now the lead vocalist for the death metal band, Atrophia Red Sun.  In addition to this, bassist Marcin “Martin” Rygiel exited the band, leaving Vogg as the only remaining member.

In 2009, Vogg announced that Decapitated would indeed continue on to make music and he recruited a new team of musicians to work on new material.  The result of this process is Carnal is Forever.

The Knife

When I first heard the album preview that was posted on the internet early this summer, I was really excited to hear the record in its entirety.  The best way I can describe my feeling when I was actually able to hear all the tracks on Carnal is Forever is by way of parallel.  I felt like I had just seen a preview to what appeared to be a really hilarious movie, only to find out that all the best jokes had been included in the trailer. 

This judgment is probably a little bit too harsh.  It’s not as big of a letdown as the new Morbid Angel release (which was just a bad album).  I just set the bar a little too high.  I expected a death metal masterpiece but was greeted by a good album instead.  There are some really good tracks on this record, like “The Knife” and “404”, but there are also some weak spots that left me a little disappointed.

United

While I really like the punchy distorted guitar sound Vogg uses on this record, a lot of the riffs end up sounding the same as the album progresses.  There aren’t as many memorable riffs as one would expect on a Decapitated release.  There are some really cool guitar licks and interesting measures, but much of it blends together over the course of the record.

Decapitated also features clean guitars in their music for the first time on this album.  I like that they’ve decided to bring that to the table.  Unfortunately, they don’t really do anything all that intricate or inventive with it.  It’s mostly just there to provide atmosphere and at times sounds boring (as it does in the middle of the title track, in my opinion).  The best use of clean guitar is on the song, “Silence”, which is completely void of distorted guitar work.

Silence

One of the uses of clean guitars on the record

The new drummer, Kerim “Krimh” Lechner, is pretty good but he’s certainly no Vitek.  He has a speedy brutal attack and good timing, but so does a thousand other death metal drummers in the music world today.  In other words, Vitek's drumming skills are noticeably absent on this record.

The general direction of this review has been kind of negative, so I just want to take a moment to say that Carnal is Forever IS a good album.  It’s just not on the same level as some of Decapitated’s previous landmark releases, such as Nihility and Organic Hallucinosis (not to mention their debut album, Winds of Creation).  That being said, Decapitated has had to overcome a lot since the loss of Vitek.  It’s not easy to create a new album after the passing of one of the most skilled death metal drummers to have ever lived, not to mention the departure of all band members except for one.  I think Carnal is Forever is a good tribute to Vitek’s memory and I’m happy to see that Decapitated is marching forward even after suffering such tribulations.  I think the musical foundation they've created with this record will be built upon with better records to come down the road.  I'll patiently wait to see what Decapitated does next.  They will be headlining a North American tour with Decrepit Birth and Fleshgod Apocalypse this fall, so definitely go and see them live if you get a chance.

Final Rating: 8.5/10

3 Favorite Songs from the Album: The Knife, United, A View from a Hole


Author's Note:  This album has grown on me a lot over the past few months the more I've listened to it.  I think my first rating of 7.5 was too low, so I've changed my rating to an 8.5/10 (March 2, 2012).