Vader – Welcome To The Morbid Reich

Don’t tell me you didn’t expect this because things were leading to certain success from the beginning. The title of the album which leads us back to first glorious demo of the Polish battering ram back in 1990, the amazing cover which reminded of the old glorious days of the band, especially in the ‘90s, the first sample of the album with ‘’Come And See My Sacrifice’’. And of course, if we add the very known quality they have shown in EACH album they have done (with some being delightful masterpieces of the whole extreme scene and some others not that great but still full of inspiration), then you easily understand why we have one more time a perfect Vader album and one of the highlights of 2011 as well.

The previous album ‘’Necropolis’’ found the band on the verge of changes with a new line-up once again but it proved to be a good album with some excellent tracks and the trademark Vader sound. This time it seemed that the leader of the pack, Peter, decided he should dive straight to the roots of the past and believe it or not, he created the most death metal release of Vader since their debut album ‘’The Ultimate Incantation. There are many parts on ‘’Welcome To Morbid Reich’’ that remind of the superb debut and a smile will come to the faces of those who lived that era or got to know the band later. It will also may cause attraction to the ones thinking that Vader were repeatable or just a band that was based in the blast-beat parts.

First of all the structures of the songs. Yes, it is true Vader sound but this time, there are a lot of changes you can’t help but noticing since the beginning. Straight forward giant guitar riffs that either force their way into your head or keep the rhythm in mid tempo groovy parts. A great work has been done to the lead parts also, which drives me to say it’s the best guitar sounding album in the long career of Vader. Peter has now a great guitar player by his side named Spider which seems to be a perfect fit (until Peter might show unsatisfied with something else of course, as many know how much of a perfectionist he is). Especially the beginning on ‘’Don’t Rip The Beast’s Heart Out’’ might make your jaws drop, as it sounds like the beginning of an old Megadeth song for example.

Second, there are no blast beats on the album (yes, you still read a review about a Vader album) but crushing drum parts. A big suprise but very welcome, as they prove that they can lead the listener to headbanging without some very characteristic parts of them. And not only you keep on feeling the album inside you, but you also realize that from the first listening you have already picked your favourite tracks. With seven tracks above three minutes (another big surprise), the two minute blasters ‘’Only Hell Knows’’ and ‘’Lord Of Thorns’’ will stick to your head immediately, plus a great remake of ‘’Decapitated Saints’’ from the debut album. Last but not least, the vocals are maybe the best Peter has done the last years. Confident, powerful and fully obsessive!

Vader once again shock the world pleasantly, proving that where others stop their inspirations and some others try to reach their status, creativity and honesty, they still remain far ahead, being maybe the steadiest death metal band in the history of the European condinent for sure, and one of the best in the world in total, having preserved their sound despite the little changes from album to album. If we think of how many releases they have (don’t forget the great EP’s they have released) and the fact that in the worst case we have an album from them every two years, the characterization ‘’Slayer of Europe’’ might be unfair for them. In the ongoing question once quoted ‘’Are you morbid?’’, Vader can surely answer a large yes. More than some others who carry this name… They are coming! Who dares not follow them?