February 7, 2006
Producer(s): Decapitated
Usually when a band member departs from a group, there is a trace of “bad blood,” or hard feelings to some degree. One of the rarest things you will ever come across in the world of music, is the departing member going through the trouble of finding a suitable replacement for himself, further helping the band he is leaving. Well, that was the case for the Polish Death Metal group: Decapitated. When their long-time vocalist Sauron decided to put down the microphone for the final time because of escalating health problems and a new found enthusiasm for taking his musical talents in a different direction.
Before he left, Sauron introduced the band to a good friend of his who goes by the name, Covan. The chemistry was there and it wasn't long before Decapitated started putting pen to paper, constructing music for their fourth studio offering: "Organic Hallucinosis," released in 2006.
When they first broke into the scene in the late 90's, Decapitated were noticed right away for a couple of different reasons. First, for their very technical playing abilities and second, for the extremely young age of the band. In fact, when they recorded their debut album in the year 2000, the oldest member of the group was guitarist (and main songwriter): Vogg, who was nineteen at the time. Furthermore, they were composing (and putting together) music that some longtime musicians could only dream of writing. They have only gotten better since their debut release and it shows immensely throughout "Organic Hallucinosis."
Containing the same elements of their previous albums keeping up the same velocity and energy, "Organic Hallucinosis" takes on those same elements and multiplies them by a thousand. With this record being the measuring stick of all their material to date, guitarist Vogg's skills are taken to a whole new level of brilliance.
While still maintaining his own unique brutal writing style which is easily identifiable among fans of the genre, Vogg (and the rest of the band for that matter), have started to incorporate poly-rhythms into their writing. Poly-rhythm, for those who may not be familiar with the term, is the occurrence of two or more different rhythms being played simultaneously. Just check out the tracks: "Visual Delusion," "Day 69," and my personal favorite tune off the album, "Post(?) Organic" to see them executed flawlessly.
While this record throws plenty of ploy-rhythmic ideas around, Decapitated have not forgotten what brought them to the table. This record still contains material which is technical in nature, but is easier for one's internal metronome to follow. Tracks like "Flash-B(l)ack," and "Revelation of Existence (The Trip)" are perfect examples that show off the "old-school" sound of Decapitated, while at the same time still flirts with the ideas and concepts of poly-rhythm.
It's a shame that this masterpiece is only thirty-two minutes long. However, it is a half-hour of music that at times seems to defy the laws of human nature due to how fast and accurate our external limbs can actually perform. "Organic Hallucinosis" is a must have for every die-hard death metal fan out there. It is an album which has reminded me why I started listening to death metal in the first place, and you truly have to hear it to believe it.
My Killer Kutz: "Post(?) Organic," "Invisible Control," and "Visual Delusion."
