They released their first demo Cemeterial Gardens in 1997 and their second demo, The Eye of Horus in 1998. After these releases, the band was considered as genuine contenders of the underground metal community, and eventually signed with Wicked World/Earache Records for the release of the debut album, Winds of Creation.
With Vitek (1984-2007) and Vogg (being aged 23) they are one of the youngest bands in the genre to have had success. Martin and Vogg conjointly hold gigs with the Polish experimental symphonic/technical black metal band Lux Occulta.
Decapitated also toured the UK upon the release of Winds of Creation, and in light of a phenomenal response, the band was led to being voted "Best Newcomer" in Terrorizer Magazine's 2000 Reader's Poll, and a further European tour in 2001 with Immolation continued to contribute to the band's musical reputation.
Vogg recently stated that he is looking for a new line-up to keep the band alive.
History
Decapitated released their first demo entitled Cemeterial Gardens in 1997 and released their debut album, called Winds of Creation, three years later. Nihility was the follow-up of Winds of Creation.
Their 2004 album, The Negation, along with their latest effort Organic Hallucinosis both have a fuller, more classical death metal tone. In summer 2005, the band's vocalist Sauron quit the band. According to Sauron, the reason was due to "health complications". Sauron's replacement was Covan, a previous member of Atrophia Red Sun. The group is currently signed to Earache Records.
Organic Hallucinosis was released on the 13th of February 2006. Martin rejoined Decapitated after the army wanted him for conscription in Poland and nearly faced going to court despite the rumours of problems concerning the label, which were proven to be untrue.
Incident in Belarus
On 29 October 2007, while travelling to a show in Gomel, Belarus, the band was involved in an automobile accident. Their tour bus collided with a truck carrying wood, injuring Vitek and Covan. While it was initially believed that they were taken to Moscow to be treated after treatment at a local hospital, it was later confirmed that they were only taken to be treated in Novozybkov.
Covan has since shown signs of improvement. The bus was said to be 'beyond repair' following the crash, an indication of the impact of the collision. On 2 November 2007, the band's drummer Witold "Vitek" Kiełtyka died in the hospital from head injuries sustained in the accident.
Recently, Waclaw "Vogg" Kieltyka joined Vader as a session guitarist since Decapitated is on hold and Vader former guitarist, Mauser, left the band
New Member(s)
In March 2009, remaining member Vogg put out a message asking for drummers and vocalists around the world to send their audition tapes to him, and that after a long decision he was going to keep Decapitated alive.
On July 31st 2009 , Vogg announced on the Decapitated Myspace that 21 year old Kerim "Krimh" Lechner had been chosen as the bands new drummer. Rafal Piotrowski was chosen as Covan's replacement and Filip "Heinrich" Halucha (of Vesania fame) completed the 2009 Decapitated lineup on bass, leaving Vogg as the only original member.
United
Decapitated Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Counted, trained, controlled
Being a cog in the machine
Being a grain of sand in the desert
Being a sheep in the herd
You breathe on command
You shit on command
You kneel on command
Born with no herd instinct, afraid of the crowd
Forced to follow the rules, to obey your laws
deserter in uniform, refugee on constant run
I'm not proud of victories, nor distraught with defeats
I refuse to take part in this conspiracy of lies
I take no orders from your idiot generals
How come motherfuckers that you always unite
For the wrong cases, under false flags?
Lo and behold! Admire the show
Lethal duel between me and the world
Where the world wins the battles
But I lose the war
I was the crippled Spartan child thrown over the cliff
I was the villain crucified at the right hand of Iscariot
I was the black albino torn to pieces by his own tribe
I was the woman that knew the herbs burnt at the stake
The lyrics to Decapitated's song "United" draw a clear contrast between those who follow blindly and those who think for themselves, highlighting the struggle between conformism and individualism. The opening lines, "You will never walk alone/Counted, trained, controlled," set the tone for the rest of the song, describing a world where people are treated as mere cogs in a machine, told what to do and how to do it. The repetition of "You breathe on command/You shit on command/You kneel on command" reinforces the idea that people are not free to make their own choices, but must instead obey without question.
However, the song's protagonist refuses to be a part of this system, rejecting blind obedience and instead choosing to rely on their own instincts and sense of morality. "I refuse to take part in this conspiracy of lies/I take no orders from your idiot generals" they declare, calling out the hypocrisy of those who claim to be fighting for what is right while causing harm to innocent people. The final lines, which reference historical figures who were punished for their nonconformity, suggest that standing up against the status quo often requires great sacrifice.
Overall, "United" is a thought-provoking song that encourages listeners to consider the ways in which they may be blindly following authority, and to think critically about the actions they take.
Line by Line Meaning
You will never walk alone
You'll never be alone
Counted, trained, controlled
You're counted, trained, and controlled
Being a cog in the machine
You're a small part of a greater system
Being a grain of sand in the desert
You're insignificant like a grain of sand in a desert
Being a sheep in the herd
You are a follower like a sheep in a herd
You breathe on command
You only breathe when commanded to do so
You shit on command
You only defecate when commanded to do so
You kneel on command
You only kneel when commanded to do so
Born with no herd instinct, afraid of the crowd
I was born without the instinct to follow and am afraid of being in a crowd
Forced to follow the rules, to obey your laws
I am forced to adhere to the rules and laws set by others
Deserter in uniform, refugee on constant run
I am a deserter in uniform and constantly on the run like a refugee
I'm not proud of victories, nor distraught with defeats
I'm indifferent to both victory and defeat
I refuse to take part in this conspiracy of lies
I won't participate in this deceitful plan
I take no orders from your idiot generals
I won't obey orders from foolish leaders
How come motherfuckers that you always unite
Why do you always unite for the wrong reasons?
For the wrong cases, under false flags?
Why do you unite for false and bad causes?
Lo and behold! Admire the show
Look and see the spectacle
Lethal duel between me and the world
There's a deadly fight between me and the world
Where the world wins the battles
The world may be winning the battles
But I lose the war
But I'm losing the overall war
I was the crippled Spartan child thrown over the cliff
I'm like the crippled Spartan child thrown over a cliff
I was the villain crucified at the right hand of Iscariot
I'm like the villain who was crucified beside Iscariot
I was the black albino torn to pieces by his own tribe
I'm like the black albino who was killed by their own tribe
I was the woman that knew the herbs burnt at the stake
I'm like the woman who was burnt at the stake for knowing about herbs
Contributed by Julia S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.