Vader should, by this stage, need no introduction. Formed in 1983 in Poland, whilst the country remained deep within the grip of communism; Piotr Wiwczarek may be the sole constant member, but the sense of purpose, apparent even within the first primitive rumblings of 1992’s The Ultimate Incantation, has remained undimmed. It has been four years since the ecstatically-received The Empire, with only an EP, 2019’s Thy Messenger to sate fans’ appetites, but that does not mean that Vader have been resting upon their laurels. Rather, Piotr was busy honing the next devastating assault and, in the summer of 2019, the band convened at Grindstone Studio with Scott Atkins (Cradle Of Filth, Sylosis, Amon Amarth) to record the blistering Solitude In Madness.
Opening with the Blitzkrieg of Shock And Awe, Vader waste little time in staking their claim as the ultimate death metal band. Scott Atkins knows how to walk the fine line between technicality and organic power and his experience shows, moulding Vader’s unfeasibly proficient assault into a satisfyingly chunky wall of sound that, for all its concise energy, still conspires to feel like a live band starting a riot in your living room. Barely a breath is drawn before Into Oblivion is delivered with the sort of glacial disdain that Behemoth summoned on Evangelion. Maintaining a semblance of melody within the heart of such a maelstrom is no mean feat, yet such an ability is what sets old school death metal bands apart, rending their songs as memorable as they are vicious. Ensuring that things don’t become descend into repetition, Despair injects a particularly potent strain of corrosive punk into proceedings, whilst the death metal in excelsis of Incineration Of The Gods manages a devastating groove reminiscent of Slayer, seemingly in spite of James Stewart’s unhinged performance behind the kit. The first half crashes to an end with the diabolical Sanctification Denied, a harrowing, three-and-a-half minute battering of the senses shot through with atonal soloing and a vocal performance dragged from the gates of hell itself.
Opening the second half, And Satan Wept, is devastatingly precise, like a death metal take on Rammstein, James’ thunderous beat nailing the listener to the floor before an abrupt volte-face sends things spinning off in a thrash direction. Piotr peels out whiplash solos on Emptiness (think the Seps’ classic take on Orgasmatron) before a grueling riff leads us into Final Declaration. A crushingly heavy album highlight, Dancing In The Slaughterhouse is delivered like a bolt to the cranium, the sickly stench of freshly-spilled blood seeping from the speakers as the band unleash hell in a playground of death. It should mark the album’s ferocious peak, but the band have no intention of letting the momentum slide, and the hyper-speed Stigma Of Divinity dispenses its payload in less than two minutes. It leaves the crunchy groove of Bones to bring the album to an immensely satisfying close, not a weak track on display, and the listener adorned with the sort of shit-eating grin usually triggered by a Slayer mosh pit.
Brutally efficient death metal is in no short supply these days, but Vader brook no denial. For every ounce of aggression they pour into their performance, there’s a hint of melody that renders the songs as memorable as they are deadly and when the band, on songs such as Incineration Of The Gods, dare to groove, it is with such malevolent glee, you’d have to be clinically dead not to head bang. Pared to the bone, there’s not an ounce of fat to be found anywhere, whilst Scott’s immense production job and Wes ‘Autopsy’ Benscoter’s artwork is the icing on the cake. One of the year’s best extreme metal albums? Don’t even dare to doubt it… 9/10
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