I've never really listened to much death metal in my time but when I heard Decapitated's The First Damned, I wanted to slap myself for not listening to more death metal before then. Now, I can't say exactly what Decapitated sounds like (seeing that I am not too familiar with the whole genre), but I can say The First Damned is pure, menacing metal.The utter madness of the entire album combines deep, bowel-moving growls with the ever-loved blast beats all atop harmonious yet dark guitar licks. Each song on the album seemed to be constructed to instill fear in all men who listen. And with the constant fear, the black sword which is metal swings away allowing the listener to headbang and feel the urge to kill.
As I research more on this band, I took in from their website that The First Damned is a compilation of 2.5 albums. The first 7 tracks were written as The First Damned (released in 2000) while the tracks 8-11 were written under the demo The Eye Of Horus from 1998. Finally, the last two tracks (being live and sounding incredible) were from a demo titled Cemeteral Gardens which was released in 1997.
Personally, I found this album enticing, and knowing the CD was a compilation of 2.5 albums made no difference. The overall sound of The First Damned is quite impressive and as far as I can hear, this band's talent is high on the ranks of metal scene for the type of music they play. Decapitated has opened a new door in the world of metal for me and I plan on listening to this band's more recent music.
Track Listing:
1. Intro
2. The Eye of Horus
3. Blessed
4. The First Damned
5. Nine Steps
6. Dance Macabre
7. Mandatory Suicide
8. Destiny
9. Way To Salvation
10. Ereshkigal
11. Cemeteral Gardens
12. Way To Salvation (Live)
13. Nine Steps (Live)