DECAPITATED

Vancouver metalheads at the Modified Ghost Festival were losing their minds over one of the wickedest metal bands ever to come out of Poland.

Metalheads were in their glory this weekend in Vancouver Canada as the Modified Ghost Festival began its 3 night onslaught of sonic brutality.  This evening at the Rickshaw Theatre, we had a incredibly stacked bill with the deafening tones from Truent, Allegaeon, Kataklysm and Septic Flesh.  Then, if you were not completely annihilated after that, you were finished off with the headliner Decapitated!

Decapitated were founded way back in 1996 in Krosno Poland by founding member Waclaw “Vogg” Kieltyka who is lead composer and guitarist of the band.  They have definitely had their share of challenges since then, but have battled their way through it with 8 albums in the discography.   The latest one released in May of 2022 called Cancer Culture (Nuclear Blast) which is a head melting, bombastic piece of work with catchy riffs and intense vocals from Rafal “Rasta” Piotrowski.   The rest of the band is rounded out with Pawel Paske on bass and James Stewart on drums.

Being that it’s been over 7 years (September 2 2017) since their last appearance in the Pacific Northwest, the SOLD OUT Rickshaw crowd was salivating at the chance to see this band back in action.   They begin the night with “Cancer Culture” from the new album and what a start!  Laser lights flashing all over the place, and a thunderous bass drum rattling our rib cages as Vogg engulfs our brains with that infectious riff that gets our heads banging ferociously.  Thereafter the ear beating continues on with another from Cancer Culture with “Just a Cigarette”, which is just as blazingly fast and fierce.  Rasta’s final scream in that song was just soul ripping, as we couldn’t have asked for a better start with these new songs.

Not to worry, at song 3 they go deep in the catalogue with “Babylon’s Pride” from 2002’s Nihility album and thereafter, back to the first album Winds of Creation with “Nine Steps” which I don’t believe either has ever been played in the Northwest before. Hearing the first 2 songs then these 2 songs was an interesting juxtaposition to the bands evolution in their sound and style over the past 24 years.  When I was in the lineup (no, i don’t get special privileges at the Rickshaw), some mentioned that Decapitated have softened up over the past couple albums, which might be true.

But, in saying that, with this 10 song setlist tonight they do a pretty delicate balance with a range of songs the old and the new stuff.   They did manage to ignore 3 albums entirely as we heard nothing from Organic Hallucinosis, Carnival is Forever, or Blood Mantra.   However,  I saw no disappointment from anyone, as they went the sweet chugging guitar in “Lying and Weak”, the technical riffs of  “Spheres of Madness”.

They then bring us closer with newer Songs 7 with “Earth Scar” and thereafter the thrashy “Never” from 2017’s Anticult album.   Both of these crushed heads, if not decapitated them, with Voggs deadly guitar tone and Rasta flailing his tentacles like they were on fire.   The lights were absolutely all over the place in this show and the sound itself at the Rickshaw was pummeling.

They bookend this show with 2 more new ones from Cancer Culture with my personal favorite off that album with “Iconoclast” and fittingly, “The Last Supper” to finalize the devastating performance with no further encores.  Prior to Iconoclast, Vogg does a little speech about “its been 7 years and we remember this room, it was a great show, but wasn’t the easiest show we played but that is a story for another day”.  I am now curious on what happened that night, be interesting to know since he brought it up.

Would we have dreamed for a longer set tonight with say 15+ songs (Vader earlier this year did 18)?  Sure, but with all these bands tonight crushing it set after set, and it might of been just too overwhelming for us to take in one evening plus they went beyond 11:20 pm which 11 is the normal time for shows to end at the Rickshaw.  Decapitated certainly spanked us all hard this night on Day 1 of the Modified Ghost Festival, and to think tomorrow night another full menu of head smashing metal with headliners Dying Fetus! Watch for that review soon on Loudflash.oom.