Decapitated
Metaldays - 2019
Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen
It had been a good nine years since Decapitated’s latest visit to Metaldays, then Metalcamp. Then they had opened the second stage, now they were mid-card on the main stage.
That wasn’t the only change though, as drummer Kerim ‘Krimh’ Lechner (now in Septicflesh) was out, and in his place was one James Stewart (Vader, among others).
Still, the game was pretty much the same as I remembered it from the last time. Decapitated didn’t ease us into the groove, it was a full-on blast attack from the opening riff. Once more, it was frontman Rafał ‘Rasta’ Piotrowski that handled the performance and audience bit pretty much on his own, while the rest of the gang stood where they were placed and headbanged. Piotrowski didn’t speak much, except for some general “thanks” and “good to see you” comments, but his body language was all that was needed to get the crowd on board, and with that he did a great job in firing up the show.
Little by little, the rest of the guys became more actively involved in the performance as well, but it was clear that Piotrowski did the heavy pulling here - lucky then, that he was so good at it.
You see, even though Decapitated didn’t start out with a huge crowd, they did have an active one. Already from the first song, there was a wild circlepit spinning up dust in front of the stage, and with each passing song, the circlepit not only kept pace, but seemed to grow in size as well as furiosity.
Later, it would show that the energy certainly wasn’t letting up. Piotrowski tried to set up a wall of death, but instead of waiting for the musical cue, people just ran towards each other as soon as the divide had been made.
Heck, the crowd was wild enough for the guards to start hosing them down with water, so as they wouldn’t run the risk of passing out in the heat.
Musically, Decapitated was still delivering a hard-hitting barrage of death metal beats, and obviously it was well received by their fans. I was still not a fan, but I liked what they managed to do with the crowd, and applaud them for that.
That wasn’t the only change though, as drummer Kerim ‘Krimh’ Lechner (now in Septicflesh) was out, and in his place was one James Stewart (Vader, among others).
Still, the game was pretty much the same as I remembered it from the last time. Decapitated didn’t ease us into the groove, it was a full-on blast attack from the opening riff. Once more, it was frontman Rafał ‘Rasta’ Piotrowski that handled the performance and audience bit pretty much on his own, while the rest of the gang stood where they were placed and headbanged. Piotrowski didn’t speak much, except for some general “thanks” and “good to see you” comments, but his body language was all that was needed to get the crowd on board, and with that he did a great job in firing up the show.
Little by little, the rest of the guys became more actively involved in the performance as well, but it was clear that Piotrowski did the heavy pulling here - lucky then, that he was so good at it.
You see, even though Decapitated didn’t start out with a huge crowd, they did have an active one. Already from the first song, there was a wild circlepit spinning up dust in front of the stage, and with each passing song, the circlepit not only kept pace, but seemed to grow in size as well as furiosity.
Later, it would show that the energy certainly wasn’t letting up. Piotrowski tried to set up a wall of death, but instead of waiting for the musical cue, people just ran towards each other as soon as the divide had been made.
Heck, the crowd was wild enough for the guards to start hosing them down with water, so as they wouldn’t run the risk of passing out in the heat.
Musically, Decapitated was still delivering a hard-hitting barrage of death metal beats, and obviously it was well received by their fans. I was still not a fan, but I liked what they managed to do with the crowd, and applaud them for that.
Decapitated
