Carnival Is Forever is the fifth studio album by Polish death metal band Decapitated. It was released on 12 July 2011 via Nuclear Blast. Carnival Is Forever was produced by Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka with Daniel Bergstrand.

Carnival Is Forever
Cover art by Łukasz Jaszak
Studio album by
Released12 July 2011 (2011-07-12)
Recorded9 February – 31 March 2011
StudioRG Studio, Gdańsk, Poland
GenreTechnical death metal
Length42:30
LabelNuclear Blast, Riffs Factory/Mystic Production, Nippon Columbia
ProducerWacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka, Daniel Bergstrand
Decapitated chronology
Organic Hallucinosis
(2006)
Carnival Is Forever
(2011)
Blood Mantra
(2014)
Alternative cover
Special edition CD+DVD

Carnival Is Forever is Decapitated's first album to feature vocalist Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski, and their only album to feature bassist Filip "Heinrich" Hałucha and drummer Kerim "Krimh" Lechner.

Background

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In 2009, after a period of disbandment, Decapitated's guitarist, composer and founding member Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka reformed the band with Austrian drummer Kerim "Krimh" Lechner, vocalist Rafał Piotrowski, and bassist Filip "Heinrich" Hałucha.[1][2] Throughout 2010, the band toured in Europe, United States, Australia and New Zealand.[3][4]

Decapitated entered RG Studio in Gdańsk, Poland on 9 February 2011 to record Carnival Is Forever, the follow-up to Organic Hallucinosis (2006). The album was produced by Kiełtyka, and the drum tracks were recorded with Daniel Bergstrand.[5][6] In order to achieve "the 'true', organic and natural sound", the band recorded with live drums (without using drum triggers) and without double guitar tracks.[6][7][8]

Several riffs on the new album were created with previous drummer Witold "Vitek" Kiełtyka. The almost two-month recording session finished on 31 March.[7][8] The cover art was created by Łukasz Jaszak.[9] The lyrics were contributed by Jarosław Szubrycht, the vocalist for Lux Occulta.[10]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic     [11]
About.com     [12]
Blabbermouth.net          [13]
Brave Words          [14]
Revolver     [15]
Teraz Rock     [16]

Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic said "[...] implausibly heavy, musically vicious and polyrhythmically busy numbers such as "The Knife," "United," "404," and "Pest" (all of which owe a trick or two to Meshuggah, Gojira, and even Byzantine) appear to be at war with themselves—such is the instrumental complexity displayed by each musician as he fights to out-shred his bandmates."[11] Dave Schalek of About.com noted Decapitated musicians skills "[...] the quality of the musicianship is as high as ever. Vogg’s riffing and staccato time changes are tight and flawlessly played, and drummer Krimh fills out the sound with perfect accompaniment to Vogg’s frenetic riffing."[12]

Scott Alisoglu of Blabbermouth.net also praised musicianship: "In what turns out to be an ace rhythm section, bassist Filip Halucha and Kerim "Krimh" Lechner deliver the rhythmic goods in the form of tight, acrobatic performances and some very colorful percussion that both contrasts and syncs up with all those gouging and biting Waclaw riffs."[13]

Track listing

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All lyrics are written by Jarosław Szubrycht

No.TitleMusicLength
1."The Knife"Wacław Kiełtyka, Witold Kiełtyka, Kerim Lechner4:31
2."United"Kiełtyka, Lechner5:24
3."Carnival Is Forever"Kiełtyka, Kiełtyka, Lechner8:49
4."Homo Sum"Kiełtyka, Kiełtyka, Lechner4:33
5."404"Kiełtyka, Kiełtyka, Lechner5:08
6."A View from a Hole"Kiełtyka, Lechner6:11
7."Pest"Kiełtyka, Kiełtyka, Lechner3:36
8."Silence" (Instrumental)Kiełtyka4:18
Total length:42:30
Special edition DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Studio Report 2011"19:35

Personnel

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Charts

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Chart (2011) Peak
position
US Billboard Top Heatseekers[17] 11
US Billboard Top Heatseekers (Northeast)[17] 4
US Billboard Top Heatseekers (Pacific)[17] 8

Release history

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Region/Country Date Label Format
Poland 12 July 2011 (2011-07-12) Riffs Factory/Mystic Production[18] CD, CD+DVD
United States Nuclear Blast[19] CD, LP, CD+DVD
Europe 15 July 2011 (2011-07-15) CD, LP, CD+DVD
Japan 20 July 2011 (2011-07-20) Nippon Columbia[20] CD
Argentina 20 July 2011 (2011-07-20) Icarus Music[21] CD

References

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  1. ^ "Decapitated: New Drummer Announced". Blabbermouth.net. July 30, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  2. ^ "UK Tour 2010!". MySpace. Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  3. ^ "Decapitated, The Faceless, All Shall Perish Confirmed For Summer Slaughter Tour". Blabbermouth.net. April 15, 2010. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  4. ^ "Decapitated: New Lineup Announced". Blabbermouth.net. November 20, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  5. ^ "Decapitated To Enter Studio Next Month". Blabbermouth.net. January 21, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Decapitated Recording New Album; Photos, Report Available". Blabbermouth.net. February 14, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Decapitated: Efekt jest piorunujący" (in Polish). muzyka.interia.pl. March 31, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-05-08.
  8. ^ a b "Decapitated final studio report". Nuclear Blast. April 1, 2011.
  9. ^ "Decapitated: 'Carnival Is Forever' Track Listing Unveiled". Blabbermouth.net. May 13, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  10. ^ "Decapitated: New Album Title Announced". Blabbermouth.net. May 9, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  11. ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Carnival Is Forever - Decapitated". Allmusic. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  12. ^ a b "Decapitated - Carnival is Forever Review". Archived from the original on 2016-05-09. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  13. ^ a b Alisoglu, Scott (28 July 2011). "Carnival Is Forever Decapitated". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  14. ^ Perri, David (July 8, 2011). "Decapitated - Carnival Is Forever". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  15. ^ Krovatin, Christopher (July 13, 2011). "Review: Decapitated – Carnival Is Forever". Revolver. Archived from the original on September 29, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  16. ^ Wewiór, Łukasz. "Decapitated – Carnival Is Forever review". www.terazrock.pl. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  17. ^ a b c "Decapitated - Chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 6, 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  18. ^ "DECAPITATED - Carnival is Forever". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-12.
  19. ^ "Decapitated".
  20. ^ "ディキャピテイテッド / カーニヴァル・イズ・フォーエヴァー | 商品情報 | 日本コロムビアオフィシャルサイト".
  21. ^ "DECAPITATED Carnival is forever - ICARUS MUSIC Label, Distro & Live Shows". Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2014-07-12.
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