Dekapitator
Thrash band formed in San Jose, CA in 1996 by Matt Hellfiend. Guitarist Matt "Hellfiend" Harvey and drummer "Atomic" Andy Maniac Col were formerly in Exhumed.

Storm Before the Calm Dekapitator - The Storm Before the Calm (Relapse Records) 2007

1. "The Storm Before the Calm" (6:39)
2. "Toxic Sanctuary" (4:12)
3. "Deathstrike Command" (4:19)
4. "Run With the Pack" (4:19)
5. "The Call to Combat" (6:08)
6. "Eye of the Storm" [instrumental] (1:55)
7. "Earthscorcher" (3:34)
8. "Screams From the Holocaust" (3:40)
9. "The Scourging" (5:09)

Dekatpitator are are playing Bay Area thrash metal, and are another in a long line of thrash metal bands to put out CDs this year. 2007 has been quite the year for thrash metal. I haven't seen this many quality thrash metal releases since the early 1990's. "The Storm Before the Calm" is abrasive, aggressive thrash metal. I wouldn't exactly call Dekaptitator original, in that much of what they do has been done before. However, I don't think the point was to create something new, but rather play a style of music that the band members love. Much of the material here is fast to mid-paced. There is very little that I would describe as slow with the exception of the melodic and appropriately titled instrumental "Eye of the Storm". Musically, Dekaptitator take bits and parts from the different thrash scenes. The vocals most certainly echo the classic German bands like Sodom and Kreator, while some of the music reminds me American bands like Devastation, Dark Angel, Exodus and Slayer. I've even seen the band labeled as death metal, but there is nothing even remotely death metal on "The Storm...". As a matter of fact, the only thing close to death metal here is the cover art, which looks like something you might see on a Bolt Thrower album. Dekapitator is just good, 'ol thrash metal.

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