About Decapitated
Decapitated is a Polish death metal band formed in Krosno in 1996. The group comprises guitarist, founder and composer Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka, vocalist Rafał Piotrowski, bassist Paweł Pasek and drummer James Stewart. Decapitated have gained recognition as one of the genre's most widely respected bands and one of the finest exponents of technical death metal. The band earned an international fan base in the underground music community and became an innovating act in the modern death metal genre.
Vogg and his younger brother, drummer Witold "Vitek" Kiełtyka, founded Decapitated along with vocalist Wojciech "Sauron" Wąsowicz in their mid-teens, joined by bassist Marcin "Martin" Rygiel a year later. After releasing two demos, the band signed with Wicked World and, in 2000, released their debut album, Winds of Creation. In 2002 and 2004 the band released the albums Nihility and The Negation, respectively. The band's fourth album, Organic Hallucinosis, was released in 2006 and featured vocalist Adrian "Covan" Kowanek, who had replaced Wąsowicz the year before.
In late 2007, the band was involved in an automobile accident. Vitek died at the age of 23 on November 2, 2007, from the injuries he suffered from the accident; Covan survived, but he slipped into a coma as a result. After a period of disbandment, Vogg reformed Decapitated in 2009 and the band has released four more studio albums since then: Carnival Is Forever , Blood Mantra , Anticult and Cancer Culture . Alternative Press described Decapitated as remaining one of "death metal's elite" bands.
Decapitated was founded in Krosno, Poland in 1996, by guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka, who was 15 at the time, his brother drummer Witold "Vitek" Kiełtyka, who was 12 years old, and vocalist Wojciech "Sauron" Wąsowicz, who was 16. One year later, bassist Marcin "Martin" Rygiel, 13, joined the band. Decapitated released its first demo, Cemeterial Gardens, in 1997 and its second demo, The Eye of Horus, in 1998. After signing to Earache Records subsidiary Wicked World, the band released its debut album, Winds of Creation, which included a cover version of Slayer's "Mandatory Suicide", and was produced by Piotr Wiwczarek from the Polish band Vader, in April 2000. The band toured with Vader in early 2001 in the United Kingdom. Allmusic states that "Decapitated have quickly gained recognition as one of Poland's, and even Europe's, finest exponents of ultra-technical death metal."
Decapitated's self-produced second album, Nihility, which was released in February 2002, fulfilled the high expectations that followed the well-received debut album. Nihility also included a cover version of Napalm Death's "Suffer the Children". Decapitated was chosen to perform at the Polish Ozzfest event in late May and toured in North America and Europe in August. Sławek and Wojtek Wiesławscy produced the band's next album, The Negation, which was released in February 2004. The album received a positive response from critics and was followed by a tour in Europe and the United States throughout 2004.
In mid-2005, Sauron announced his withdrawal from Decapitated, stating: "It was not an easy decision. However, I could reconcile the welfare of the band with my personal plans, and hence quitting appeared to be the best solution not hampering the evolution of Decapitated. Moreover, another reason that contributed to my decision have been some health complications." The band chose Adrian "Covan" Kowanek, a previous member of Atrophia Red Sun, as his replacement and entered Hertz Studios in Białystok in August to record their ambitious fourth album Organic Hallucinosis, which was released the following February. According to Allmusic, the band's musical change of direction on this album was "likely to polarize longtime Decapitated fans".
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