“Heads Above The Rest.” – Kerrang!
Across eight studio albums, DECAPITATED grew from the adolescent dream of teenagers from a
small Central European town to one of the leaders of the metal genre. Each successive album
further expands the band’s sound with genre-bending authenticity and integrity. As Metal
Injection rightfully observed, “any self-respecting death metalhead knows the name well.”
DECAPITATED’s music is a weapon forged by four young men from a historic medieval-fortified
town in Poland, which catapulted them to the top of a worldwide subculture. Like a rose in the
devil’s garden, the DECAPITATED story builds triumph from tragedy. The gleeful grotesquery of
extreme metal imagery and rifftastic bludgeoning beckons listeners to uncover broader truths.
Upon the release of 2017’s Anticult, Metal Hammer declared DECAPITATED “a serious successor
to the likes of Pantera and Lamb Of God – a band who can draw new legions into the metal world
as its new champions.” Their diverse follow-up, 2022’s Cancer Culture, delivers on that promise.
Wacław “Vogg” Kiełtyka (guitar), Rafał “Rasta” Piotrowski (vocals), Paweł Pasek (bass), and James
Stewart (drums) are at the top of their game, delivering the goods at peak performance. Jinjer
vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk and Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn make guest appearances.
Vogg and his younger brother, drummer Witold “Vitek” Kiełtyka, cofounded DECAPITATED in 1996.
The rule-breaking ferocity and invention of their first four albums reinvigorated death metal. Sadly,
this era came to a shocking end in late 2007, when the band’s bus collided with a large truck near
the Russian border with Belarus. Vitak tragically passed away from his injuries. He was just 23.
Vogg summoned the courage to continue, in honor of his brother and what they created, and
returned with a new incarnation of DECAPITATED and the fiercely adventurous comeback album,
Carnival is Forever (2011). Blabbermouth declared Blood Mantra (2014) “perhaps the most poised
and gutsy” DECAPITATED album, adding “its courageous bends make it a turbulent but pleasurable
ride.” Anticult increased the musical diversity without sacrificing their signature sound.
The devoted supporters who traveled to see DECAPITATED on international tours with the likes of
Lamb Of God, Meshuggah, and Soulfly over the years will recognize the ever-present pummeling
backbone of Cancer Culture. Driven by Vogg’s passion and integrity, the dual emphasis on
invention and skill maintains DECAPITATED’s stature as genre-leaders in 2022 and beyond.