ALBUM REVIEW: Vader, "Solitude In Madness"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 01/05/2020

Label: Nuclear Blast

“Solitude In Madness” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Shock And Awe
2. Into Oblivion
3. Despair
4. Incineration Of The Gods
5. Sanctification Denied
6. And Satan Wept
7. Emptiness
8. Final Declaration
09. Dancing In The Slaughterhouse
10. Stigma Of Divinity
11. Bones

The Review: 

Polish death/thrash kings return with this brutal and vicious 30 minute slab of metal. With James Stewart firmly installed behind the kit, what do the band bring to the table this time? A feast of death metal, that's what! Half an hour of to-the-point extremity, hitting hard on every track.

It's eleven tracks long and with “Shock and Awe”, it starts with blast beats, frantic riffing and shredding leads. It continues in exactly that vein. It's adrenaline inducing stuff and is even more insistent than the excellent “The Empire” album from 2016. Track after track, the record simply steamrollers the listener. It's catchy in places as well- like all the best death metal. “Into Oblivion” echoes Morbid Angel at their peak and that is a very high compliment. It's expertly played, mixed and produced.

Its head nodding and neck snapping at the same time. It's rare that a death metal album inspires this kind of desire to break the speed limit/destroy something with joyful abandon, but Vader have managed that here. “Despair” is a nasty little track at not much over a minute in length, before Stewart fires up the tank and rolls over skulls on “Incineration Of The Gods”. Piotr Wiwczarek is as commanding as ever with Marek Pajak and Tomasz playing a blinder throughout. I can't actually think of a more reliable and consistent death metal band than Vader- possibly Cannibal Corpse? Certiainly not Deicide, or Morbid Angel or Entombed etc etc. I think of Vader as the Motorhead or Overkill of death metal- consistently good, record after record.

As the album progresses, it doesn't really change or dip at all. “And Satan Wept” is just as menacing as anything in the first half of the album and so it goes from there. Each track is concise and brutal, mixing death and thrash elements to perfection. It doesn't rely on blast beats or pure speed so is not boring. It has songs, riffs and excellent time changes- witness “Emptiness” for proof.

The last few tracks are just as cruching; “Final Declaration” is a percussive tour de force, “Dancing In The Slaughterhouse” is weighty, “Stigma of Divinity” is blasting perfection and “Bones” finishes with a relatively lengthy four minutes of serpentine riffage and heaviness. As Vader albums go, this one is excellent. As death metal albums go, therefore, this is exceptional. I can't find anything to fault here- this is death metal as it should be. Not bland, boring or aimless. It cuts like a razor.

“Solitude In Madness” is available HERE

Band info: facebook

REVIEW: Vader, "Thy Messenger" (EP)

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 31/05/2019

Label: Nuclear Blast

This is a great EP and perfectly executed; clean, sharp, but it also has enough dirt and grit to satisfy the old school fans. A coup de grace.

“Thy Messenger” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Grand Deceiver
2. Litany
3. Emptiness
4. Despair
5. Steeler

The Review:

This five track EP is a welcome return from Poland's best death/thrash export. 2016's “The Empire” was the last studio offering from these veterans and as main-main Piotr stated, if the band went for releasing a full length album then it would not be ready until the end of the year, so instead they have put out this nasty little short sharp shock. Indeed, the EP is becoming a favoured format for some bands- it allows fans a solid taste of material without being overly lengthy and allows a band a reason to get out and tour or just give a reminder they are still around. In this modern digital age, attention spans are not what they were and grabbing a listener's attention is even harder than before.

From the opening blasting of “Grand Deceiver” to the closing cover of Judas Priest's “Steeler”, this is a band firing on all cylinders and ready to take on all comers. The riffs are all there as is the almost rock n roll feel present in Vader's best material- they have a kind of Motorhead vibe to their delivery- even if Vader are as precise as they come in delivery. The EP includes a re-working of their classic track “Litany” which of course benefits from the state of the art production and clarity of sound. Yes, it's clean and sharp, but it also has enough dirt and grit to satisfy the old school fans.

The more mid paced “Emptiness”, with its traded leads and rolling bass drums is almost akin to the Gothenburg sound, but it retains considerably more bite and swing than many of those bands. The one and a bit minutes of “Despair” is punk infused death/thrash and a reminder that straightforward riffage and carnage are Vader's forte. The aforementioned “Steeler” by Priest closes this impressive and focused EP. It will leave Vader's legions of fans satisfied that the band are forging ahead at full speed and still very much a going concern. This is a great EP and perfectly executed. A coup de grace.

“Thy Messenger” is available HERE

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Vader - "The Empire"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 04/11/2016

Label: Nuclear Blast

Death metal with a hefty dose of thrash sums up what Vader were and are about. This album has moments of steady rolling, thrash pacing and blast beats. Quite simply, this is an excellent Vader album.

“The Empire” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Angels of Steel (2:16)

2. Tempest (2:41)

3. Prayer to the God of War (2:47)

4. Iron Reign (4:37)

5. No Gravity (4:08)

6. Genocidius (2:59)

7. The Army-Geddon (4:10)

8. Feel My Pain (3:24)

9. Parabellum (2:28)

10. Send Me Back to Hell (3:32)

The Review:

Polish veterans Vader follow up the excellent “Tibi Et Igni” with this; “The Empire”. Death metal with a hefty dose of thrash sums up what Vader were and are about. This album has moments of steady rolling, thrash pacing and blast beats. Quite simply, this is an excellent Vader album. We all have our favourites, “De Profundis” or “Black to the Blind”... even the aforementioned last record they put out (mine, as it goes!). Rest assured, this album is up there with their best work.

The production is crystal clear and very precise. The drums in particular are superb; punchy and with a fine balance of high and low end. The vocal performance of Piotr throughout is excellent but to be fair, all band members are on top form here.

From the off, you know what you are getting. Stand outs? Well, opener “Angels of Steel” and “Iron Reign” really stand out for me, but you cannot argue with any of the ten tracks offered up to the gods of war here. I can see all of the tracks standing up well in the live arena (I saw them earlier this year with Overkill- they slayed). The songs are reassuringly concise- no fifteen minute epics here; you get short sharp shocks aplenty. Riffs, solos, leads... chugging passages. This is proper metal.

The album is strong from front to back with “Send Me Back to Hell” being every bit as immediate as the opener. Vader have created a very strong record here. If you like Vader, you will like this album. If you haven't heard them and are considering doing so, starting with this album and working backwards would be a fine move. If the later person is you, I envy you; I wish I was discovering this band again.

Vader have been in the game since the early eighties, they know how to deliver high quality metal and they do so by the (tank) shell full here. A tour de force of a modern death/thrash album. Buy it and then bang your head!

“The Empire” is available now

Band info: facebook

FFO: Morbid Angel, Slayer, Decapitated, Behemoth

REVIEW: Vader - "Iron Times" EP

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: EP
Date Released: 12/08/2016
Label: Nuclear Blast

‘Iron Times’ CD//DD track listing:

1. Parabellum (2:28)

2. Prayer To The God Of War (2:47)

3. Piesc I Stal (4:05)

4. Overkill (4:17)

The Review:

Vader, a classic Polish metal band need no introduction. Their thrashing death stylings are well known to most death heads and, as their recent tour with Overkill proved, they crossover well to a more thrash/traditional audience as well. I was somewhat surprised to hear that this EP leans firmly towards the thrash end of their output. Across the four tracks you could be forgiven for thinking you were hearing the latest US thrashers on the block.

Just listen to the opener “Parabellum” for proof. Hyper fast thrash beats, angular riffage... but with those blasts and snaking riffs that scream death metal at you (or growl it, perhaps). Similarly, “Prayer To The God Of War” finds the band in deadly form; fast and furious all the way. Neither of the first two tracks goes close to three minutes, so it is up to “Piesc I Stal” originally by Panzer X to raise the playing time and drop the tempo. What is it about? I don't know as I only speak English! It has a good rolling groove to it and some great lead work (as does the whole album) and marks a change of tack for the band. Great stuff.

This short and spiky EP ends with a cover of “Overkill" by Motorhead, and as expected the band deliver a fast and raucous version. A guitar is used instead of the bass for the well known intro, and the band play it straight thereafter. Still a classic, nearly 40 years after it was first unleashed. Four tracks: two ragers and two covers. A fine stop gap before the next album. Fans will want to check it out. Those new to the band could have a taste here.

‘Iron Times’ is available now

Band info:  facebook

RIYL: Morbid Angel, Decapitated, Hate, Behemoth

The Sludgelord News: Bring Blitz! Over Europe Tour to the UK & Ire in March

Polish death metal legends VADER will finally return to the UK & Ireland this March for a string of live shows under the banner “Blitz! Over Europe 2015”. The band will be joined by fellow death metal countrymen HATE.

Vocalist and guitarist Piotr “Peter” Wiwczarek had this to say about the tour: “VADERMANIAX !!!! The European part of Blitz! is COMING !!!! Together with ‘Rock The Nations’ agency we are pretty much ready to visit 19 cities in March 2015. This first part of  the VADER tour - promoting the last album ‘Tibi et Igni’ released by Nuclear Blast in 2014 - includes 11 countries (as well as England , Scotland and Ireland). We come together with our dudes from HATE. We can’t wait to bring Hellfire to you soon. THE GATES OF HELL OPEN JUST NEXT TO YOUR HOUSE “

The dates are as follows (with ticket links):

17th March - UK Plymouth, The Hub
18th March - UK Nuneaton, Queens Hall
19th March - UK Glasgow, Audio
20th March - IRE Dublin, Voodoo Lounge
21th March - UK London - Underworld

I

n 2014, VADER returned with the absolute heaviest album in their career. The Latin titled creation ‘Tibi Et Igni’ was recorded between December 2013 and February 2014 at Hertz Studio in Bialystok(Poland). Wojtek and Slawek Wieslawski were brought in to produce their bulldozing death metal masterpiece. You can read our review of their latest record here and order your copy of ‘Tibi Et Igni’ here.

vader.pl | facebook.com/vader | nuclearblast.de/vader

Source: Nuclear Blast UK

Vader - Tibi Et Igni (Album Review)

Album Type : Full Length

Date Released : 30/5/2014

Label : Nuclear Blast

Vader - ‘Tibi Et Igni’ (CD/DD/LP) track listing :

1. Go to Hell 4:36

2. Where Angels Weep 2:18

3. Armada on Fire 3:50

4. Triumph of Death 3:45

5. Hexenkessel 5:28

6. Abandon All Hope 2:23

7. Worms of Eden 3:34

8. The Eye of the Abyss 6:45

9. Light Reaper 4:28

10. The End 4:55

Bio :

Almost three years have passed since the highly acclaimed »Welcome To The Morbid Reich« by polish Death Metal legends VADER came out. Following the release on August 12, 2011, the band that was founded in 1983, landed several respectable chart entries - #6 in Poland, #17 at the US Billboard Heatseekers Charts and #73 in Germany to name but a few – VADER hit the road for a massive tour circle. The touring between November 2011 and November 2013 saw the fierce foursome play a total of almost 200 shows in 25 different countries.

In 2014, VADER return with the absolute heaviest album in their career. The Latin titled new creation »Tibi Et Igni« was recorded between December 2013 and February 2014 at Hertz Studio in Bialystok (Poland). Wojtek and Slawek Wieslawski were brought in to produce this upcoming death metal sledgehammer of an album and it doesn’t take more than the first few seconds of the opening track `GO TO HELL´ to appreciate the strength of the new record’s position in VADER’s multifaceted discography. With riffs that sound akin to a demolition squad, double bass attacks like uppercuts and vocals that echo from your guts like thunder in the night, VADER have outdone themselves on their new opus. “Tibi Et Igni” embodies death metal in perfection! 

Demons are knocking to your door now....

The Band

Peter   | vocals

Spider | guitar

Hal      | bass

James  | drums

Review :

Often times, while reading a review about a new Vader album, you’ll find some variation of the phrase “it sounds like Vader, so you know what you’re getting into”. Now, that might be true to a certain extent, but there are certainly good and bad Vader albums, despite being on essentially the same path since their inception. There’s a difference in conviction and effort that varies from album to album. That is the major difference that separates an album like “Litany” from an album like ‘The Beast’, for example. I’m happy to say that ‘Tibi Et Igni’ is more “Litany” than “Beast” and considerably better than even 2011’s “Welcome to the Morbid Reich”, which as a very good album.

The album begins with an orchestral interlude, not unlike what you might hear on a Dimmu Borgir album before breaking into the bulk of opening song “Go to Hell”, which very clearly recalls “Legion of the Dead” from Testament’s 1999 album ‘The Gathering’. From that moment on, Vader is at the top of their game, with extra emphasis on the word “their”.

It’s a Vader album through and through, although there are some pleasant deviations from the standard Vader formula. “Triumph of Death” breaks from the blast-and-thrash of the first several songs with its mid-tempo stomp. Relative lack of speed aside, it’s a real headbanger  and one of Vader’s best as far as obligatory “break from the onslaught” kind of songs go.

“Hexenkessel” has a very different melodic sensibility from a typical Vader song, not to mention the semi-shocking groove once the cinematic opening fades away. It would typically seem out of place, but it works better than you’d think. Once the blasting begins, the riff remains a bit more melancholy; it’s almost borderline black metal. It’s just one of a number of ways that Vader manages to keep up the energy level of ‘Tibi Et Igni’ without having the barrage making you numb.

The production on ‘Tibi Et Igni’ is perfectly suited to Vader. While it definitely sounds like a modern metal album, there’s enough humanity to it to keep it from sounding overly digital, which I think was a bit of an issue on ‘Welcome to the Morbid Reich’. The drums are punchy, but not so mechanical that they sound alien to discerning ears. Speaking of the drums, new drummer James Stewart seems to be a better fit for Vader than his predecessor, even with this being his debut album for the band. That’s not to say Paul Jaroszewicz isn’t a great drummer, but Stewart’s subtle choices and general style work better for Vader overall.

It must be said that it’s no mean feat that Vader is still releasing albums of this magnitude at this stage in their career. Their consistency has only occasionally dipped in the 22 years their debut, and with ‘Tibi Et Igni’, they have proven that they are still capable of presenting albums on par with the highest tier of their discography. After all these years, and like Carcass did with Surgical Steel last year, Vader have reminded the world with ‘Tibi Et Igni’ that songwriting beats unchecked brutality every time.

Words by : Daniel Jackson

You can get it here

For more information :

www.vader.pl

www.facebook.com/vader

www.nuclearblast.de/vader