Decapitated was formed in 1996 by guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka, his brother drummer Witold "Vitek" Kiełtyka, and vocalist Wojciech "Sauron" Wąsowicz when they were all in their teens. Bassist Marcin "Martin" Rygiel joined the band a year later and they released their first demo, "Cemeterial Gardens", in 1997 as well as their second demo, "The Eye of Horus", in 1998.