''Blood Mantra'' is the sixth studio album by Polish

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

band

Decapitated Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common ...

. It was released on 22 September 2014 in Poland via

Mystic Production Mystic Production is a Polish independent record label. It was founded by Barbara Mikuła in 1995 in Skała. The company was initially releasing and distributing Heavy metal music, heavy metal music, including early albums by artists such as Scep ...

and later in September via

Nuclear Blast Records Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiary, subsidiaries located in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on ...

in other regions. ''Blood Mantra'' was produced by Wojtek and Sławek Wiesławscy. It is the band's first album to feature drummer Michał Łysejko and their only album to feature bassist Paweł Pasek. The song "The Blasphemous Psalm to the Dummy God Creation" was released as a single on 8 August 2014. Two days earlier, the single was released as digital stream on Nuclear Blast

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profile.

Background

''Blood Mantra'' is the follow-up to Decapitated's 2011 album '' Carnival Is Forever''. It is the recording debut of drummer Michał Łysejko with the band, who joined the band in January 2014, and also the first album to feature bassist Paweł Pasek. It was recorded at Hertz Studio in Bialystok, Poland, with producers Wojtek and Sławek Wiesławscy. The album cover art was created by Polish artist Łukasz Jaszak. Guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka commented on the album, "Extreme and groove — I think that's the best way to describe our new album. This time we feel that we have something totally crushing and huge. ''Blood Mantra'' is the most heavy and mature album we ever did in our career. I cannot wait to start to play songs live because riffs are soo deep and powerful." He also stated, "We flirt with various tempos mixing death metal with grindcore and almost outright black metal atmosphere together with more, so to speak, 'crowd-puller' beats verging on groovy, almost stoner-rock climates. There are also a few more modern metal rhythmic riffs where we return to the climate of ''

Organic Hallucinosis ''Organic Hallucinosis'' is the fourth studio album by Polish death metal band Decapitated. The album was released on 7 February 2006 in the United States, on 13 February in Europe and on 22 February in Japan. The release was followed by European ...

'' album. I'm certain that the very fact we are again, after 9 years, in Hertz studio will evoke the spirit of that album. The vocals sound very promising. Rasta afał Piotrowskiis a much more experienced vocalist compared to the ''Carnival Is Forever'' album times. And his voice sounds more powerful and deeper." A music video for "Instinct" was released in October.

Critical reception

In a ''Blood Mantra'' review, ''

Revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

'' stated: "Twelve years after Poland’s Decapitated raised the death-metal bar with its mighty sophomore album, '' Nihility'', the band’s dynamic arrangements and scalpel-edged musicianship are still a wonder to behold". According to ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'', "''Blood Mantra'' features the band's signature well-executed style, but with the experimental twists that Decapitated have mastered over the years and have provided the distinguishing factor between albums. The band's trademark crushing technicality and heavy, aggressive grooves ("Exiled in Flesh," "Veins") juxtapose with new elements such as melodic passages and avant-garde structures ("Blindness," "Red Sun")".

Track listing

Personnel

Decapitated

* Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka –

guitars The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

button accordion A button accordion is a type of accordion on which the melody-side keyboard consists of a series of buttons. This differs from the piano accordion, which has piano-style keys. Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs categorize it as a free reed aerop ...

* Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

* Paweł Pasek –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

* Michał Łysejko –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Production

* Wojtek and Sławek Wiesławscy –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

Background

Critical reception

Track listing

Personnel

Decapitated

Production

Charts

Release history

References