More than one person has stated that Decapitated were all below the age of 18 when they recorded this CD, and while I think that might be a bit of a stretch, these guys were definitely very young when they recorded Winds Of Creation. Which kind of makes this release somewhat remarkable. These guys are playing Death Metal like they’ve been playing it all their lives; like season veterans in the field, who play with a lot of precision and enthusiasm; and that's a good thing.

Sure, we’ve sort of heard this before for the most part (I’ve been saying that a lot lately) but I think it would be fair to state that Decapitated bring a fresh breath of air to the genre. Just like how Warmachine, (a local Heavy Metal band where I live) who are playing Metal almost entirely inspired by Iron Maiden, Decapitated are doing a similar thing, but the fact that both bands are all around 20 makes their music just seem more interesting. Maybe it’s a psychological thing, or maybe it’s not, but all I can say is that I really enjoyed Winds Of Creation. The strongest quality of this release is the song writing; there is always something new going on in the songs. As is often the case with certain Death Metal bands, there are not really any choruses, nor are they any verses… at least not in the traditional sense. Decapitated songs are basically one brutal section after another. Whether it be a blast beat run, a complicated, chaotic rhythm based section, or even a simple double bass run with palm muted riffs for maximum head bang potential… it doesn’t really matter because Decapitated tend to include all of these, and more into each song. Some are more successful than others, but it does make the listening experience enjoyable and it forces you to pay attention so that you don’t miss a killer passage, and there are a lot of those.

The band is obviously very talented, especially in the drumming department. Not only is the drum sound very good (it’s more like the "old" Florida Death bands) but also the playing is really tight with a lot of quick starts and stops, and interesting fill/cymbal work. The vocals are your typical Cannibal Corpse styled fair… yes they fit well and help add to the atmosphere and are phrased well with the music, but some of you are probably tired of this style by now. There are also a lot of well-placed leads, which are mid-paced and more thought-out than typical “play as fast as you can” solos. I find this gives a nice, but simple contrast to the fast music, which only slows down for one or two sludgy riffs.

The only real downsides are the somewhat unoriginal style of old Florida Death mixed with Polish Death and some songs do not flow as well as others. When the songs do flow though, like on the title track or Nine Steps, Decapitated is very successful. Also as a bonus, is a killer cover of Mandatory Suicide by Slayer. I thus highly recommend this brutal band to all Death Metal fans. I’ve read and heard very few negative comments about these guys… and with good reason. When you play with this much skill and with a lot of smart change-ups, how can you complain… that is if you like your Death Metal fast, heavy, chaotic, and brutal!