Is it possible to judge Carnival is Forever, the new Decapitated album, solely on its own merits, and not by the events leading up to its inception? Yes and no. Yes, in that it’s a killer metal album with nothing but top-shelf, groovy tech-death riffs one after another (seriously, it gets a little absurd after a while). But no, in that one can’t help but wonder in the album’s more ruminative moments if guitarist Vogg is reaching tendrils out to his audience, expressing a deep sadness in losing two-thirds of the permanent lineup of the band he founded in his teens, including the death of his brother, beloved and influential drummer Vitek. Whether or not a black veil is lowered over the album is beside the point; it’s there from our point of view.

But this isn’t a funereal affair in the slightest, and the band doesn’t get lost in angsty navel-gazing. A new Decapitated release that didn’t have the verve and balls of Carnival would be an insult, and Vogg knows that. Even if the record (through no fault of its own, really) runs the risk of being known as the Resurrection Album, he certainly didn’t reform Decapitated with all new guys just to cash in on a traumatized fan base: Carnival is Forever is overflowing with intent and purpose, getting an eyeful of the sun in the shadow of the legacy of the band that made it. Phoenixes and ashes aren’t exclusive to Hate Eternal, after all.

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Lost in the fracas of new Devin and new Protest and new Scale the Summit and new this and that and the other thing is the fact that the mighty Decapitated are recording a new album with an expected release date this year. That’s pretty significant methinks, no? The MS Mansion Monkey in charge of Polish Death Metal has been promptly demoted and revoked his privilege of access to the finest Costa Rican bananas. Bad, Wilfred, bad!

It turns out that recording of the new record is just about done, according to band mastermind Vogg in a recent statement made via SickDrummer.com. Sick Drummer has also debuted footage of new drummer Krimh laying down the brootalz, which you can and should watch here:

While Rafal finishes up vocals and Vogg adds a few solos, Daniel Bergstrand has already begun mixing the record. I’d think we can expect this thing to come out sooner rather than later, then; I can haz br00tal blasts this summer plz?

-VN

According to a press release just picked up on the newswire by the MS Mansion Monkeys, Polish death metallers Decapitated — who were decimated by a car wreck in 2007 that killed one member and left another in a coma — are on their way back. Wacek “Vogg” Kieltyka, guitarist & founding member, has issued the following statement:

“It’s time to come back!  After a two-year break, DECAPITATED is coming back with new members.  The official new line-up for DECAPITATED will be announced at the end of December.

“As you all know, the decision to continue the band was really, really hard for me, but everything I do now is to keep DECAPITATED alive. [Vocalist] Covan’s situation has not improved much and he is still in bed and unable to function on his own.  He still fights to recover as we speak and we are all still 100% behind him and hope for the best.  It has been the hardest thing for me to move on without [brother & drummer] Vitek by my side, but he would have wanted me to continue with the band.”

It strikes me as odd that Vogg isn’t revealing the identities of the new members, seeing as everyone seems to know that Kerim “Krimh” Lechner — whose impressive solo work I posted earlier this week — is the new drummer. Even the band’s Wikipedia page (not that Wikipedia is always the bastion of truth… but still) claims that Krimh was announced as an official member on July 31st of this year, and you all immediately called it in the comments of the above-linked Krimh post. Perhaps Krimh has been dismissed? I guess we’ll have to wait until December to find out. In the meantime, check out the above video of Krimh’s latest song “Go In Circles.”

Vogg then goes on to reveal the band’s upcoming touring plans:

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I’ve had this YouTube vid up in my browser for days because it’s simply awesome. This kid who goes by the name “Krimh” plays drums, bass and guitar himself on this track, filmed himself playing each part and cut it all together in this nifty video. The playing is top-notch and the composition is excellent — reminds me of an instrumental Textures. It’s kind of got a Sumeriancore feel to it but there’s also an element of black/grimness that pops up here and there. I also really dig the organic drum tones as opposed to the heavily sound-replaced tones that usually dominate this kind of music.

This guy is pretty much what I strived to be when I was in high school, a multi-instrumentalist composer — only I didn’t have a drumkit (or the space for one) and my crappy little Roland 8-track (which did service me quite well) wouldn’t have been capable of properly recording it even if I did. Today’s kids are lucky to have excellent recording software available at their fingertips so cheaply, I tells ya.

Check Krimh out on MySpace if you want more.

-VN

[Thanks: Chris Uber]