The recent news about Decapitated has disturbed me and left me very distraught.

If they are convicted, or Vogg (the only member from the early days) is amongst the guilty ones, then I need help from you guys.

Can someone suggest the most similar sounding bands to early 2000s era Decapitated (Winds of Creation era, particularly)? They can be newer bands that play in that style, or possibly a band from the same era that slid under my radar. If they are indeed guilty, I want to know what bands can be suggested with the same sound or very similar. Even if they are not guilty, I will still be sure to give your suggestions a listen. I'll check them out for now, and if Decapitated are guilty of the horrible crimes they are accused of, I at least have someone else to turn to for this kind of death metal. And if not, I have another death metal band to look into.

If I'm not mistaken all these bands are Polish & somewhat similar to early Decap:
Dies Irae
Deivos
Lost Soul
Pretty obvious but some Hate & Vader as well

Also try Psycroptic & Soreption

If you're looking for that sweet kick drum/syncopation thing the djent scene might be worth a shot if you can stomach it that is:
After the Burial
Vildjarta
Divitius
Born of Osiris (early)

I already know who Vader is, of course (the other big name death metal band from Poland, perhaps arguably now the go-to band from the country with the unfortunate news).

I am already into Soreption, great band. I can't wait for their next album.

I saw Psycroptic live earlier this year (had to travel hours to do so, the only time I did so this year, as metal bands NEVER play here, as nearly all venues within an hour radius won't allow metal bands to play), they put on a good show, and I bought their album The Scepter of the Ancients. Good stuff.

I'm not into djent, so stay away from djent oriented recommendations, and go for the more brutal sounding stuff.

And if Decapitated are indeed guilty, hopefully some new bands will come along and steal their riffs so I can still enjoy them.

But if at least Vogg is found not guilty, at least, I can still turn back to the first few albums. But it's still tough to say. Vitek must be spinning in his grave right now, and if he isn't, he may very well be soon enough.

Good luck with this and update us if you've found anything on your own because I've been on the hunt for more Winds of Creation style metal for ages. WoC is in a league of its own. I'd say early Cryptopsy or Deicide - Legion comes closest in terms of style. Iniquity or mid-era (like Assassination) Krisiun are kind of similar but less spastic/constant twists and turns than WoC. Wish I had something less well-known to recommend. Most tech death I'm familiar with is missing whatever it is that early Decapitated had and most plain death metal is nowhere near as technical.

Oh yeah, Nile's Catacombs is another one that is somewhat similar in the very off chance you don't already know it.

Look, first off their only great album worth hearing is Winds. And I don't care if the band nuked an entire continent, I'll still listen to that album. They were just kids then, different people. And lastly, innocent until proven guilty.

Well, it looks like they're innocent after all. That's a relief.

Still, as one who is always on the hunt for more death metal, I'll have to look into the other bands mentioned that I'm unfamiliar with.