Vader - Armageddon
System Shock Records - 2002
By Philip Whitehouse
Vader, Poland's primary death metal exports, have been going for quite some length of time now. And over that time, they have consistently released some of the most battering slabs of technical yet brutal death metal ever pressed onto plastic. This CD is a collection of some of Vader's best recorded works, from early EPs through live album tracks to latest recordings.
And, predictably, it's bloody excellent. The production values may change, but the quality of the songwriting doesn't. Early studio tracks like 'Dark Ages' stand up equally well to the later live renditions like 'Red Passage' as examples of malevolent, furious death metal at it's very best. Vader's strength lies in their ability to drag the listener into a inexorable gravity well of evil atmosphere, head held under the surface by double-time kick drum patterns, furious riffs and the vocalists unbelievably gruff snarl.
Two live covers are presented for the listener's enjoyment also - a faultless rendition of Slayer's flesh-stripping 'Hell Awaits' and a perhaps misguided version of Black Sabbath's self-titled dirge. The doomy power of the latter is admittedly beefed up considerably by death metal amplification, but the vocalist's throaty barks and unmistakably Polish accent don't do Ozzy's original vocals any justice at all...
Other than this little misfire, Armageddon is an essential purchase for any death metal afficianado.
9.5/10
System Shock Records - 2002
By Philip Whitehouse
Vader, Poland's primary death metal exports, have been going for quite some length of time now. And over that time, they have consistently released some of the most battering slabs of technical yet brutal death metal ever pressed onto plastic. This CD is a collection of some of Vader's best recorded works, from early EPs through live album tracks to latest recordings.
And, predictably, it's bloody excellent. The production values may change, but the quality of the songwriting doesn't. Early studio tracks like 'Dark Ages' stand up equally well to the later live renditions like 'Red Passage' as examples of malevolent, furious death metal at it's very best. Vader's strength lies in their ability to drag the listener into a inexorable gravity well of evil atmosphere, head held under the surface by double-time kick drum patterns, furious riffs and the vocalists unbelievably gruff snarl.
Two live covers are presented for the listener's enjoyment also - a faultless rendition of Slayer's flesh-stripping 'Hell Awaits' and a perhaps misguided version of Black Sabbath's self-titled dirge. The doomy power of the latter is admittedly beefed up considerably by death metal amplification, but the vocalist's throaty barks and unmistakably Polish accent don't do Ozzy's original vocals any justice at all...
Other than this little misfire, Armageddon is an essential purchase for any death metal afficianado.
9.5/10
