vader

(8/10) Vader belongs to one of the most important Polish metal exports. The guys started already in the beginning of the 80’s, conquering the world with their brutal and dynamic interpretation of death metal. Vader is very much Piotr ‘Peter’ Wiwczarek, the mainman and constant factor in Vader’s line-up. Wiwczarek had to face many line-up changes over time, something that led to an almost complete renewal in 2010/2011 when guitarist Spider joined followed a few month later by a new rhythm section.

This line-up seems to work very well. The four-piece has been in charge for the latest great Vader records with the newest strike waiting in line. “The Empire” is Vader’s next raging step. It’s a longplayer that shows the band raw, wild and hungry. This records wasn’t recorded to make compromises. The quartet doesn’t linger over soundscapes, epical songs and unnecessary details. “The Empire” is spot-on and each of the tracks directly hits bull’s eye - each note plays has a meaning.

The entire album gives you a bit more than a 30 minutes running time which means that the longest tracks are just scratching a four minutes level. Actually there is a lot of tunes that are boiled down to its essence, with two minutes of pure death/thrash metal.

What strikes is that Vader plays partly slower. This doesn’t mean that they have a foot on the break. There are still furious leads like in the opener “Angels of Steel” and also the following “Tempest” keeps the pace up high. Things start to become slightly different with “Prayer to the God of War”. Vader adds more thrash elements to their sound which makes the tune to a grooving metal track that reminds of Kreator. The four-piece continues their way to slow down with “Iron Empire” and it’s no surprise that this track is the longest one the album.

Just looking on these four songs shows the width of Vader’s sound on “The Empire”. The rest of the album follows this pattern featuring fast paced attacks like “Parabellum” up to slow groovers such as the closer “Send Me Back to Hell.

The guys added a lot of variation to their sound which makes the album to a shining highlight in 2016. This longplayer feels like the most mature one Vader has released so far. Without threatening their own trademarks the quartet shows what’s possible within the framework of thrash-/death- and groove metal. Thumbs up.

(8/10)

Tracklist:

1. Angels of Steel
2. Tempest
3. Prayer to the God of War
4. Iron Reign
5. No Gravity
6. Genocidius
7. The Army-Geddon
8. Feel My Pain
9. Parabellum
10. Send Me Back to Hell

Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Genre: Death Metal

Release Date EU: November 4, 2016

Next to their own tour Vader and Hate also join the Hatefest package that is rolling through Germany in April this year. Here are the dates and the bands:

A Polish trash/death package is rolling though Europe in sping 2015. Vader and Hate are playing several shows and here are the dates:

Life is about making choices. This also goes for the evening of December 4 in Holland. As a metal fan you had an extended metal menu to choose from. Life Of Agony played a show in Haarlem, the mighty Machine Head have stopped in Utrecht for a gig and there was another thrash package in Holland as well.

Sharp before Christmas a thrash metal avalanche rolled over The Netherlands. Kreator, Arch Enemy, Sodom and Vader teamed up and went on a tour through Europe. On December 4 they stopped in Tilburg to play a show in the 013.

It was Vader's role that night to enter the stage first and warm up the crowd. Unfortunaltely I had just the 'pleasure' to only listen to their music only from CD while being trapped in the Dutch evening traffic jam. Really bad luck, but however. There was much more to come that night.

After a short break the Ruhrpott legends from Sodom took over the baton. Having 14 records in the backpack and many great songs I guess it was tricky to choose which one should end up on the setlist. In the end it was a great mix of new stuff, like from the recently released "Sacred warpath" EP, and older stuff like the mighty "Tired and red " and "The saw is the law".

The center of the band is doubtless Tom Angelripper. Not just that he is the frontman and bassplayer, it's also his passion combined with experience that makes him standing out. Sodom is driven by Tom Angelripper and he stands in an authentic way for raw and unpolished oldschool thrash. Sodom is for me a kind of Motörhead of thrash metal.

Sodom really warmed-up the crowd and the first smaller mosh pits started. As mentioned, the setlist covered a lot of band highlights. Funny note was that Tom did all the announcements in German. Quite unusual for being in Holland and he also noticed that half-way. But who cares. He continued in German and the fans just had fun with it. Tom Angelripper can do such a thing.

After a powerful and solid thrash show Bernemann actually wanted to leave the stage and handed back his guitar already. But Tom reminded him that there are actually three more minutes - time enough for a straight-forward version of "Blasphemer". Cool guys, cool show.

The crowd was already pretty enthusiastic when Swedish Arch Enemy entered the stage. I was curious to see the band live since I haven't had that experience since they have with Alissa White-Gluz a new singer on board. The latest album "War eternal" has proven that she has an excellent voice, but it was more to see how she's running a live show.

I must say that I was impressed by the performance - of her, but actually from the entire band. It is amazing where Alissa White-Gluz takes all the energy from. The short metal lady spreads so much energy and uses the entire stage for her performance. 

The other new things was seeing Jeff Loomis replacing Christopher Amott in the band. He was fully intergrated in the band and it was great to see him back on stage. With this line-up we can still expect a lot from the five-piece.

The 60 minutes they got just flew and it felt like being in the middle of a metal tornado. Songs like "War eternal" but also the mighty "Nemesis" from the "Doomsday machine" record, for me still the best track they have written, have been highly appreciated by the fans. The melodic death metal of Arch Enemy fitted perfect into the line-up and the stage was prepared for the headliner.

And the journey continued. We had Poland (Vader), we had Sodom (Gelsenkirchen, Germany) and we had Arch Enemy (Sweden). Now the last stop on this trip brought us to the headline - Kreator from Essen, Germany. I don't think that I have to introduce you to the thrash metal dinosaurs.

They are around already since 30 years and never disappointed their fans in all those years. Yes, they might had one or two weaker records in the 90's, but looking on the last four longplayers in this century I must say that they are better than ever. The last time I have seen them live was a few years ago, when they have been on tour together with Celtic Frost - I think that was in 2007. In the meantime two more longplayers have been released and since the last show I have seen was an impressive one I was looking forward to see the Ruhrpott quartet again on stage.

Kreator exceeded my expectations. From the very first moment on they spread an energy that was amazing. They had the 013 with them from the very beginning till the last note. Mille is the great frontman of the band that has a lot of charisma. And the songs are doubtless excellent thrash metal anthems. A mix of old and new was celebrated by band and fans. To highlight even some of the songs is almost impossible. But I was happy that they had, as expected, "Phobia" and "Pleasure to kill" on the setlist. The last mentioned one led to a quite big mosh pit that was impressive to see.

The show was also supported by a cool video projection, some fire and even a confetti canon shot. That was a bit unusual for a thrash metal show, but it rounded off the great performance.

It was an impressive thrash metal night in Tilburg that Thursday with four excellent bands that inflamed a thrash inferno that has Championsleague level. Loud, fast and heavy - that's how it was. And it was a lot of exhausted, but happy fans that have been released into the Tilburg night.

Setlist Kreator:

1. In the year 2025 (intro)
2. The patriarch
3. Violent revolution
4. Civilization collapse
5. From flood into fire
6. Extreme aggression
7. Phobia
8. Enemy of God
9. Voices of the dead
10. Awakening of the Gods (intro)
11. Endless pain
12. Suicide terrorist
13. Mars Mantra
14. Phantom antichrist
15. Impossible brutality
16. Hordes of chaos
17. Pleasure to kill
18. The number of the beast (Encore)
19. Warcurse (Encore)
20. People of the lie (Encore)
21. Flag of hate / Tormentor (Encore)

Setlist Arch Enemy:

1. War etenral
2. Ravenous
3. My apocalypse
4. You will know my name
5. Bloodstained cross
6. Under black flags we march
7. As the pages burn
8. Dead eyes see no future
9. No Gods, no masters
10. We will rise
11. Nemesis
12. Fields of desolation

Setlist Sodom:

1. Final bullet
2. Agent orange
3. In war and pieces
4. Surfin' bird / The saw is the law
5. Outbreak of evil
6. City of God
7. Tired and red
8. Sacred warpath
9. Stigmatized
10. Sodomy and lust
11. Blasphemer

Setlist Vader:

(feel free to add them in the comments)

The trashers from Kreator have released a new trailer for the coming tour with Arch Enemey, Sodom and Vader. Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsdljOYdITc&feature=youtu.be

And here are the dates:

Jackson accompanies the thrash legends of KREATOR on their upcoming European tour. During stops in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands, fans have the opportunity to test some of the official Jackson models and learn more about the new products. At the Jackson booth an exclusive range of electric guitars of various Jackson series will be presented. And of course: Milles signature model, the Jackson "Phobia" will be definately not be missing. Plus: It also attracts as the top prize of the Jackson raffle.

The full thrash metal package hits you this year sharp before x-mas. German thrash legends Kreator and Sodom combined forces with Arch Enemy and Vader for a tour that is a must for each metal fan. A great thing for everybody who is done with Wham!'s "Last christmas".

(8/10) Polish death metal legend Vader has one constant factor - and that is Piotr Wiwczarek. He is part of Vader from the very early days of the band and I guess that Vader without him wouldn't exist anymore. I don't know how many line-up changes the band went through in all these years, but it seems, that the current lineup is a bit more stable again. The total renewal of the band took place in 2011 when Marek Pajak (g), Tomasz Halicki (b) and James Steward (d) joined the polish death metal icons. 2011 was also the year of the last release of a Vader full length album.

Three years later, on May30 2014, Vader released now their new record called "Tibi et igni", what means "For you and the fire". I was very impressed from the new album already after the first round on the turntable. It seems to me to be the most heaviest Vader album till now. What also becomes obvious is, that more an more thrash elements come back in the Vader sound. For someone like me, who was grown up with bands like Anthrax, Exodus and Slayer, something which is highly appreciated. Of course the new Vader album still contains the blastbeat parts and growls.

The album starts with a dramatic intro. It could be from a movie soundtrack. It's an acoustical prevision of what's coming. And what this means becomes obvious after 2 minutes. The guitar riff starts the inferno, which you can't escapre for the coming 40 minutes. Remarkable too is "Hexenkessel". Also this tune starts with a kind of intro. The rest of the song is an extremly cool mid-tempo monster, with some blastbeat parts, some breaks and a galopping rhythm. A high speed and very typical Vader song is called "Where angels weep". It's as swift as an arrow and reminds me with its thoroughgoingness to the earlier Slayer.

The closer "The end" is an untypical track for Vader. Most of the tune is kept pretty slow with some doublebass parts here and there. The song has a killer riff and towards the end also some great mosh parts. I like that one and I think it's one of the best tracks on the album. 

"Tibi et igni" is a brutal piece of music which doesn't take any prisoners. The album is for one of the top three ones of the band. Respect for the cool release.

(8/10)

Tracklist:

1. Go to hell
2. Where angels weep
3. Amanda on fire
4. Triumph of death
5. Hexenkessel
6. Abandon all hope
7. Worms of Eden
8. The eye of the abyss
9. light reaper
10. The end

Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Genre: Thrash-/Death Metal

Polish thrash/death metal band Vader revealed the cover of the coming album "Tibi et Ingi". Three years after "Welcome to the morbid Reich" the band returns with a new disc. Release date will be May 30st. Stay tuned.

Tracklist:

01. Go To Hell
02. Where Angels Weep
03. Armada On Fire
04. Triumph Of Death
05. Hexenkessel
06. Abandon All Hope
07. Worms Of Eden
08. The Eye Of The Abyss
09. Light Reaper
10. The End

Digipak Bonus:
11. Necropolis
12. Des Satans Neue Kleider

Bonus 7“ Vinyl Version:
Side A: 01. Necropolis
Side B: 01. Przeklęty Na Wieki (Cursed Eternally)