Tag Archives: decapitated

Features, Tours and Festivals

GWAR to Embark Upon the “GWAR Eternal Tour 2014”

Leave a comment

In music, I guess the only way to press on in life is to press on with life and when the news about Dave Brockie aka Oderus Urungus had finally sunk in, the world wondered what would become of the rest of the Scumdogs Of The Universe. Read on down below to find out just where they all are standing. I’ll be back with closing thoughts at the end.

The Press Release:
Oderus is missing. Once the Scumdogs in GWAR finally notice this (it takes them a while to notice stuff) they will set off on a journey to find their departed brother using every resource available – including recruiting an ancient Scumdog warrior. GWAR will need the help from everyone, even the lowliest Bohab, as their enemies are plotting to take advantage of the hole in GWAR’s ranks.

BalSac The Jaws of Death on The “GWAR Eternal Tour 2014” and what to expect:

“Dark clouds of war and ill omen have gathered around GWAR. In our hour of greatest peril, Oderus has left us and our enemies stand poised, ready to strike while they sense weakness. But we shall no longer cower in our Antarctic stronghold, awaiting Destiny’s final blow. This Fall GWAR sets out on the most trying quest of our career. We shall scour our leader’s favorite stomping ground, North America, leaving no city unsearched, no venue unraised, and no sheep unmolested. GWAR will venture to the depths of Hell or to the very end of Time itself, and though I fear what we may encounter out there, I know that we can never return home until we have the answer we seek: ‘Where is Oderus Urungus?'”

Continue reading GWAR to Embark Upon the “GWAR Eternal Tour 2014” →

Events, Reviews

Decapitated @ Irving Plaza (8/1/2010): “Summer Slaughter” Tour 2010

1 Comment

Logo - Decapitated

Artist: Decapitated
Venue: Irving Plaza (New York, NY)
Opener: The Faceless, All Shall Perish, The Red Chord, Veil Of Maya, Cephalic Carnage, Decrepit Birth, Carnifex, Animals As Leaders, Vital Remains
Date: 6/20/2010
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

I had just closed up a very busy month of July with shows like Charred Walls of The Damned, Soilwork, Fear Factory and last night’s Michael Schenker Show and figured that all were a pretty solid representation of Metal’s elite. Of course I’m not even counting the shows I missed such as the mighty Brits of Iron Maiden, but here we were ready to continue the Metal adventuring and what better way to start than with the annual Summer Slaughter tour. I am not sure when this event first came into being but I did begin documenting it for the Metal Republic when Black Dahlia Murder headlined. It’s usually on one long day but last year had been separated into two days with some bands appearing at one show while others would be scheduled for the next. This year it was back to one lengthy presentation and with this being the case would start very early. The headliner would be a rebuilt Decapitated and their direct support would come via The Faceless and All Shall Perish. The slaughter for 2010 would also feature The Red Chord, Veil Of Maya, Animals As Leaders, Carnifex, and many more. I arrived as early as I could to document the maximum amount of bands and as I walked into the rechristened Irving Plaza discovered that Vital Remains were already on the stage.
Continue reading Decapitated @ Irving Plaza (8/1/2010): “Summer Slaughter” Tour 2010 →

Reviews, Videos

“Humans Dust” by Decapitated

Leave a comment

Artist: Decapitated
Title: “Humans Dust”
Label: Metal Mind Productions
Release Date: 7/8/2008
Genre: Technical Death Metal
Rating: 4/5

In the world of Extreme Technical Death Metal there were definitely few bands that were as capable as the guys in Decapitated. They were young, and on top of their game very early into their career and this DVD is chock full of treats for their fans to slaver over since it gives them three concert appearances with their first singer Sauron and each tune is more intense than the last. It presents the band across the span of a couple of years and begins with a show filmed in 2002 while the band was on tour with Vader and Krisiun (wow, talk about a killer show) and the band is definitely on point as they pummel the audience with brain dizzying riffs. Of course one can find amusement as the fans are mostly just head banging as opposed to being immersed in a pit to end all pits, and the more I see these videos from Metal Mind Productions I am convinced that doing such a thing is prohibited while filming is taking place. The 2002 show features the greatness of “Winds Of Creation” and “Suffer The Children” and while Vogg’s riffs are capable of searing the flesh the drumming of Vitek just drives the intensity home. The shooting of this show is a little bit frenetic and finds the band being swapped around from member to member very quickly. This might bother some viewers but I like this kind of music with interesting camera work as opposed to a straight on visual aspect. While the show is rather short, at eight songs it seems more than enough to show the assembled fans that they meant business and we actually adept at what they set out to do. I’m not certain why this was set up in this fashion and instead of being able to flip through the concerts, you essentially watched this main program and then needed to move on to the bonus features for the rest. The great aspect of this would be that ones Metal adventure is only beginning as the last chords of the 2002 show have played.
Continue reading “Humans Dust” by Decapitated →

Features, In Memoriam

R.I.P.: Decapitated’s Witold “Vitek” Kieltyka (11/2/2007)

Leave a comment

Now this was terrible to read.

Just the other day the Polish Technical Death Metal masters Decapitated were traveling to a show in Belarus when their tour bus collided with a truck that was hauling wood. The impact from the accident caused terrible injuries to both their drummer Vitek and singer Covan and while initially there was hope for some kind of recovery from this in due time, Vitek would pass away from the injuries four days later while Covan would remain in the hospital after slipping into a coma. Vitek was only 23 years old when this happened. That frigging sucks.

Before this terrible circumstance I had only been fortunate enough to see Decapitated once in concert. Yes I had done some reviews of their releases on the website but its something else to see a musician like this in action right in front of you. I had to say that Vitek was a powerhouse and a technical monster on the drums. His loss at this very early age not only cheats the fans of his promising future accomplishments but also impacts the development of such technique quite a bit as well. I’ve posted this news in the blog under the category of “When The Music Died” so fans can speak their minds about such losses and maybe find some level of comfort by my doing so. Vitek is survived by his mom and dad and his brother “Vogg” who is also a member of Decapitated. One can only imagine that the band will cease to exist based on this occurrence and it honestly makes sense if this is what Vogg chooses to do going forward.

We wish his family, friends and legions of worldwide supporters the deepest of condolences. Rest in Peace Vitek.

Official Band Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decapitated_(band)

Features, PiercingMetal Says

PiercingMetal’s “Best Of 2006”: The Music

Leave a comment

Another exciting year in Metal music has gone by and as a member of the music press, I’m tasked with not only doing reviews here on the website but also in lining out what releases that I felt were the years very best. Initially, this post was going to feature the whole gamut of the years in terms of the music, the videos and the concerts but when my album list went on and on and on I decided to give it a post of its own to go easier on you. Let’s go.

The Best Albums Of 2006

Mercenary “The Hours That Remain” (Century Media Records): A great follow up to “11 Dreams”, this band shows that they are taking chances in Metal.

Mastodon “Blood Mountain” (Warner Brothers): Jazz Fusion Metal? I dunno, but the new Mastodon sure kicks your ass around the block.

Amorphis “Eclipse” (Nuclear Blast Records): Finnish boys return and do more good. Lots of feels on this one.

Scar Symmetry “Pitch Black Effects” (Nuclear Blast Records): Raging guitar solos, soaring clean vocals, brutal death metal growls-brilliant!

Lamb of God “Sacrament” (Epic Records): Their best yet. Future legends. The first four songs are instant classics and if you don’t find your fist in the air for this release you don’t have one. Go watch American Idol

Iron Maiden “A Matter of Life and Death” (EMI Music): Up the Irons, pure and simple. Some bad press from some people who don’t see the return to form. They are idiots.

I “Between Two Worlds” (Nuclear Blast Records): Great project from members of Immortal, Enslaved, and Gorgoroth.

Enslaved “RUUN” (Candlelight Records): The Black Metal titans get even more progressive and this is an incredible listen from start to finish

Satyricon “Now, Diabolical” (Century Media Records): More Metal needs to be like this. A resounding effort that lays waste to that which tries to come close.

Vanden Plas “Christ O” (InsideOut Music): Stunning operatic progressive metal. Their best yet! Especially the bonus track
Continue reading PiercingMetal’s “Best Of 2006”: The Music →