by Jason D. Taylor

Decapitated's sophomore album finds the Polish death metal prodigies taking their blistering style to the next level of sickness, and they deliver one of the strongest metal albums since Morbid Angel's Covenant. The vocals sound less homo sapien and more like demonic hellspawn, which intertwines with the exquisite death metal opera being performed by the rest of the band. The drumming here is relentless, pounding its way into the skull with furious determination. Occasionally this hammering process of battering the listener's eardrums seems similar to Brazilian death metal masters Krisiun, which is quite a feat. Decapitated must be one of the best groups inhabiting the European countryside as far as guitar playing goes; they could hold their own with even the great Iron Maiden. Decapitated may still be young men, but their brand of uncompromising metal stands as a testament for the legacy of metal as a whole. Nihility is a remarkable album that displays some of the best death metal to be released in the early 21st century.