Blistering Polish band Decapitated quickly seized a spot among the world’s elite extreme-metal acts in the early-to-mid-aughts, then collapsed after a tragic 2007 van accident that killed one member and seriously injured another. But guitarist Waclaw "Vogg" Kieltyka rebooted the group in ’09, and as the cold, unforgiving anthems on the recent Blood Mantra demonstrate, the new lineup upholds the Decapitated standard of quality. Misery Index, Pyrrhon and Mausoleum—ace death-metal crews from Baltimore, Brooklyn and Pennsylvania, respectively—set the stage.
