Decapitated

Although I initially dismissed this as a by-the-numbers death metal band, upon closer listen, I was impressed with Decapitated. The drummer saves the day here, blast-beating away for most of this 40-minute disc, throwing in amazing little fills and micro-solos whenever he can. The production sounds great and the songs themselves are all Florida/Poland-style death metal, but Decapitated are pushing the genre a bit with their technicality. However, there is still too much of the standard death metal vibe to this, the cookie monster vocals and comically serious artwork being main culprits. The mandatory cover finishes it off, ending this enjoyable death metal experience on a stale note (attention metal bands: lay off on covers for a while, please).