Solitude in Madness

Polish death metal veterans Vader have been unleashing their signature brand of extreme music for over three decades now, and their latest studio album "Solitude In Madness" proves that they are still at the top of their game. In fact, I would even go as far as to say that this is my favorite Vader release to date, surpassing even their classic albums like "Litany".

"Solitude In Madness" continues the legacy that Vader started to cultivate after their album "Welcome To The Morbid Reich". While their strength lies in death metal, they also incorporate elements of thrash metal into their music, reminiscent of their earlier works such as their debut album "The Ultimate Incantation" from 1992.

The album opens with "Shock And Awe", an extremely fast-paced song that sets the tone for the rest of the album. The track showcases the frenetic and aggressive energy that permeates throughout this great album. Similarly, the third track, "Despair", is very short - in fact, it's the shortest song on the album - but it's a perfect example of how a song can be less than a minute and a half long and still be as incredible as a four-minute masterpiece. Vader has always excelled in crafting short, but power-packed songs that are sufficient in their overwhelming force.

Sincerely, the album does not have any particular standout elements that make it exceptional, every track on this album is incredibly good and fast, but it's probably the way Vader got to fascinate me with this work, something they could not do in any other of all the previous works of theirs, which I have closely listened to. Piotr Wiwczarek continues to churn out riffs that are as impressive as when he was 20 years old, and it's evident that he has not lost his touch. If there was something negative I'd have to say about the album, it would not be an inexcusably negative thing, but it would be the album's duration, it does not clock even the length of thirty minutes, but you know what? It's perfect that way, just the way it is, it was the album I fell that much for.

As I've been saying, what truly sets this album apart for me is the emotional attachment I have to it. While I was blown away by their previous effort, "The Empire", "Solitude In Madness" left an even greater impact on me. In particular, the song "Incineration Of The Gods" stands out as my favorite track on the album. It perfectly summarizes what "Solitude In Madness" is all about, with fast tremolo picking riffs, a relentless skank beating on the drums that I adore, blistering double bass, and a solid vocal performance. The song does not try to be overly technical or complex, it remains a classic ode to the fast-paced death metal of the '90s, a style that I am simply enamored with.

Overall, "Solitude In Madness" feels like the album that any Vader fan would expect from the band. It's a continuation to what I like to label as a return to their roots, showcasing their signature sound with even more power and intensity. This is a must-listen for fans of the band and anyone who appreciates quality death metal.

Polish death metal overloads Vader are back with a new album of Death Metal destruction.

Ferocious guitars and drums hammer us in with no introduction. Savage vocals quickly ensue as the thrashing death metal excellence pummels through crushing layers of brutality with magnificent lead guitar work adding melody to the rhythmic battery. Once more Vader have clearly not compromised a thing, offering the barbarity of their previous works and never faltering. Churning forth a putrid blend of wonderfully tight death metal with thrashing aggression, this is no exception in the bands almost flawless discography of pure decimation. Punishing and unrelenting from the onset, this album is going to be a fierce one.

Convulsing with torturous heaviness, each song delves further into a hellish domain of filthily morbid death metal brilliance. The killer songwriting is met with a gorgeously clear production that allows every single blast beat, tremolo riff and grunt to have the full impact it is capable of. Soaring through each piece, there is an energetic disdain on the new record that builds with each piece, growing feverishly into a visceral beast of death metal that once unleashed cannot be tamed. Tracks like “Into Oblivion” do exactly what it says on the tin, dropping us right into a chaotic assault that is as inescapable as the captivating grooves on the record.

This is Vader’s 16th album, with regular EPs and shorter releases springing up through their career. Some may expect a band to run out of ideas or become dull, but Vader deliver the same passionate conjurations of pure death metal violence that they have from their inception. No compromise, no progression, this is the exact same Vader that many of us have loved for years. Clearly what they do works, they have no need or intention to change a thing and that in itself is respectable. Even more astonishing is how vicious albums like this seem to come effortlessly to the band who are evidently incapable of losing touch.

Another slab of total death metal mastery under the belts of these Polish legends. A monolith of fierce thrashing chaos that will certainly quench the thirst of old school maniacs who desire more obliteration from an era so long ago, though with a flame still burning strong thanks to the likes of Vader.

Written for www.nattskog.wordpress.com

This is vintage Vader, pity that it's only about 30 minutes long. I'd say that the riffs are more catchy than anything else. And the production quality top notch. That's what makes the instruments more endurable and their straightforward songwriting capabilities. Peter did an awesome job here both on vocals and musically. This sounds more death metal oriented than thrash, even though they fall in between these two genres. I'd say that the music is what makes this one stand out more than anything else. The tempos aren't extremely fast, just interesting and unrelenting blasts in your face. The vocals go well with the music. Everything here goes smoothly.

I've never been a huge Vader fan myself, but some of their releases are decent. This is definitely a step-up from their previous. In many ways, I should say. This is probably the best produced Vader album that I can say. And the music is just monumental. I'll use that interchangeably with sublime. I don't think there's a better Vader release than this one for a while. It just smokes. The riffs are probably the highlight of this album. I think most of the riffs are entirely unique. Some fast tremolo picking and some just flat-out bar chord chunkiness. The leads are good, too. They're pretty cool, not sloppy just unique.

I think aside from the production and mixing, this one is definitely done right! These guys kill it in every aspect! Peter's vocal outbursts I think are intriguing. His voice alongside the music is outstanding. I think he's at his peak here, and a pinnacle in the songwriting as well as the lead guitar work. Technical as fuck! These guys worked hard to getting this one to be a better era for the band. I wouldn't say that they're veterans but maybe close to it! Out of the few albums by them, this one by far is the best. I wouldn't disclose this to be their absolute best release, but close to it. Very close to it. And the songwriting, VERY GOOD!

Do the band some justice and purchase the physical CD! You can always check it out on Bandcamp or YouTube before you figure that this is for you or not. If you're a hardcore Vader fan, I'm sure you'll get the physical CD in no time! These guys did a good job for 2020 releases. It's a shame that the album isn't longer than it is, like I mentioned but it sure is something to keep in mind that even then it's still worth getting! Some people don't have CD players anymore so the digital download would be sufficient. But yeah, one of the best Vader releases I've heard, at least for a while that is! Long live the death/thrash legends!

No breaks, no controversy, no need for a ‘comeback’, no questionably commercial albums, no dips in quality, and after a full run through their twelve album stretch between formation in 1983 ’til today it becomes even more important to argue that there is no more consistent and true-to-form death/thrash metal band than Vader. The hesher hive mind splinters predictably when faced with such consistency and often to the point of revealing a collectively ill-defined notion of artistic philosophy, a conversation that too-often overshadows the nuance at which Vader approach their well-defined sonic identity. Should the artist know themselves and iterate to suit their own tastes or, do their best to leave a mark on music history with a desperate, harried plot to innovate? As a fellow who owns maybe ~15 live Motörhead albums I’ll tend to argue for an appreciation of the unique artist doing their “thing”, whatever the fuck they want ’til death and with that mindset in mind, Vader have long been one of my favorite death metal-related bands. I’ve attended every west coast US live date since 2000, bought every single full-length, and ‘Revelations‘ (2002) is more-or-less the album that taught me how to play the guitar. I won’t fall out of my damn chair foaming at the mouth defending them as the hottest shit ever but, I have remained enthusiastic about their steady stream of riffs longer than many death metal fans my age, who’d maybe dropped off after the notably accessible peak of ‘The Beast‘ (2004). So, as often as you’ll read “Their best album in years” all over the dolt-filled cesspool of internet comment culture today with regard for ‘Solitude in Madness’, I’d suggest everything that this album is all of their albums have been. There are, however, some notable enough spikes of change this time around that make Vader‘s umpteenth record well worth any extra hype anyone’d throw at it.

There are four major configurations of Vader‘s core line-up where Mark I was formative, and Mark III was moderately transitional in the sense that it’d been a live line-up selected for convenience. I won’t at all downplay the impact of the earliest line-ups nor the solid work that Daray (Vesania), Mauser (Dies Irae) contributed post-2004 but it’d be Mark II basically 1988-2005, the years with Doc (R.I.P.) on drums, that’d developed and perfected what Vader has continued to be since. On a personal level the first two albums are still definite favorites for my own taste and the strangely triggered drums of ‘Litany’ are the best kind of nostalgia that’d find me obsessed with Polish death metal these last two decades. So, is there any chance of the Mark IV line-up (2011-Present) elevating beyond the beloved nostalgia of old? Well, actually nostalgia was really the point on ‘Necropolis‘ (2009), the very obvious nods to the past on ‘Welcome to the Morbid Reich‘ (2011), and a second album of cover songs dedicated solely to the old death metal underground in late 80’s/early 90’s Poland but, I’d say ‘Tibi et Igni‘ (2014) was a fresh hit of power for founding guitarist/vocalist Peter and a largely new crew. Even as a die-hard fan I could see a certain spark had slowly returned to their works post-2005, and maybe it’d just taken an extended reexamination of their roots to work it out. ‘Solitude in Madness’ is a new high point on that thread — A step up the ladder in terms of cutting and characteristically brutal songwriting, a vital semblance of their classic sound, and it creates the feeling that they’ve hit their stride just as powerfully as they had back on ‘Revelations’.

Vader have a long tradition of fast, hard-hitting brutal death/thrash metal songs that are simply and memorably arranged that land somewhere in the ~2-3 minute range and the majority of their albums, ‘Solitude in Madness’ included, lands well under the 40 minute mark. It is somewhat rare for a ‘legacy’ artist with a gigantic dedicated fanbase to put out a ~29 minute death metal record but this ends up being an incredibly positive trait as the listening experience is fast and enjoyable as a brutal half hour burst of Vader doing what they do best and ducking out while the crowd is still going wild. What works outside of tradition this sixteenth (technically twelfth) time around? Peter suggests that it’d been out of convenience for drummer James Stewart (Bloodshot Dawn) to record in England over at Grindstone Studios with producer, engineer, mixer, masterer (and Stampin’ Ground guitarist) Scott Atkins (Sylosis, Gama Bomb) rather than split the work between numerous studios. This is a pretty remarkable change as the band has worked with Hertz Studios for the last fifteen years but it becomes clear upon firing up ‘Solitude in Madness’ that Vader will sound like Vader no matter where they’ve been rendered. It may sound like a small detail but I found it remarkably satisfying that timbre of the guitars is slightly less blunt than it’d been in the past; Likewise, the drums have a slightly more spacious presence where the double-bass hits never suffocate the low end of the bass tone. This means when the thrash riffs begin to fly and wailing, dive-bombing solos (see: “Into Oblivion”) wail out nothing clashes or feels too sterile. It should go without saying that Stewart is an exceptionally precise drummer who makes ‘real’ the triggered numbness of auld millennium-bound Vader records but a slightly more ‘warm’ presence lends some extra thrust to those hits.

My first thought when firing up this record, beyond that striking Wes Benscoter painting, was admittedly the same reaction I’d had to the prior three records: “This could’ve been the follow up to ‘Impressions in Blood‘ (2006).” The importance of that thought dwindled naturally and I’d gotten the sense that this was meant to be a good ol’ straight forward Vader-assed death/thrash album that blasts out hard and leaves 6-7 catchy-but-extreme pieces in its wake. Although “Despair”, “Final Declaration”, and “Stigma of Divinity” are the sort of fast-burners Peter has been writing since ‘De Profundis‘ (1995) they only really serve as the brutal glue that sticks together the songs you’ll remember best. The burning-in-Hell lungs and strangled lead guitar runs of “Sanctification Denied” find the two guitarists putting an extra-thrashed and otherwordly spin on a classic mid-to-fast paced Vader style of songwriting, sounding like it’d been written back in ‘The Beast’ era at times. “Emptiness” pokes at the thrash addicted (and desperate for references to ‘The Ultimate Incantation’) ear while providing some fine examples of what meaningful application of sharp techniques Spider (Esqarial) has brought to the band’s lead guitars for the last decade.

‘Solitude in Madness’ is comfortable, brutal, memorable, and even begins to feel remarkably inspired as Side B comes to a close with a cover of classic Polish crossover/thrash metal mutants Acid Drinker‘s “Dancing in the Slaughterhouse”, from the album with a cover where a chicken carcass is wearing a kid-sized Venom shirt; It is an energetic cover with a catchy hook that boosts the already thrashed-out second half of the album. Final single and lengthier album closer, “Bones”, pulls back into the previously suggested ‘The Beast’-worthy and slightly slower-paced songwriting modus. It works as intended, offering both a place marker for the end of the album when left on repeat while also giving some room to breathe after the generally slammed-out focus of the rest of album before it. Getting a bit of respite that is still appreciably heavy at the mid and endpoints of the record helps make ‘Solitude in Madness’ feel purposefully arranged and easy to become familiar with. I’d found myself ready for my tenth listen by the fifth and slipped into the full listen like a favorite band shirt each time. Nothing challenging, nothing tasteless or odd, no crazy experiments or any goofy shit in there just to get noticed, just steady throat-slitting death/thrash metal Vader-style.

I’m not necessarily too ingrained of a fan incapable of finding any major flaws here, there just isn’t any notable downside to such a streamlined and sharply written record. Although I will say that if you’re wanting anything beyond the known path of any other fine Vader album the only differences here are small, such as the slightly different render from a different studio. The lyrics are timely as much as they aim to remain timeless in their references, poignant when they need to be and defiant of normative thought as always. “Into Oblivion” has a particularly strong suggestion of nihilistic futility that I’d found striking, seeing the naivete in human beings who’d aim for immortal impact where all things assuredly head the way of dinosaurs and dust around us. It isn’t a grand manifesto or whatever, but I appreciate the sentiment matching the cataclysmic, menacing impact of the music. Again, I’m a longtime fan so my recommendation will be high, not because I’m an idiot fan deaf to any flaws but rather because I’ve gotten exactly what I want from Vader for the twelfth time and that sensation continues to be redeeming. High recommendation.

Attribution: https://grizzlybutts.com/2020/05/10/vader-solitude-in-madness-2020-review/

Litany was a real defining release for Vader. Bludgeoning the senses with some hard-hitting death/thrash riffs while Doc’s drumming beats you over the head with a giant boulder like it’s nobody’s business, Litany ripped and tore its way into everyone’s world. Since then, they set their sights towards bigger, more epic compositions with more emphasis on melody while still retaining that unmistakable death/thrash edge they’ve always had – that “Slayer fucked Death” kind of style that they’ve been riding on since day dot, albeit with varying amounts of death and thrash in their sound across each individual album. That culminated into the white-hot fury that was Tibi et Igni – an infernally thrashing, pounding hellscape that absolutely lives up to its Latin nomenclature. Between that, an airier but still unmistakably low-end production and its bombastic leanings, it’s a clean burning hell, I tell you what!

At a cursory glance, Solitude in Madness looks to be the long-awaited direct sequel to Litany. Here, they’ve taken these song structures, put them in a more compact form, and then open the album with the musical equivalent of a rhino stampede. “Shock and Awe” is essentially “Wings” for the new generation. James Stewart pounds away at the kit in a manic yet almost kind of precise manner, similarly to how Doc did it back then. Peter and Spider’s insanely fast thrashing riffs play off one another to accentuate the smashing rhythms provided by Stewart, like how Peter did it with Mauser back then with their insane tremelo picking. Everything about this song sets up the rest of the album to be a series of concentrated blasts just like “Wings” did for Litany 20 years ago.

But given a more in-depth look, it’s like if Litany and Tibi et Igni fused like they’re Goku and Vegeta. The tremelo picking and whammy solos of old are certainly there, both sprinkled throughout the songs and in spirit. This spirit is carried on through the absolute wildfire that are its thrash riffs and the blistering bursts of soloing fury. “Into Oblivion” continues what they had set up with the opener by melting your face off before taking a short break with a mid-paced break... only to double tap you towards the end with another fiery assault. Album closer “Bones” rides a similar note, but the other way around – it lulls you with a mid-paced groove before setting everything alight for one last big fuck off explosion with a cavalcade of dizzying solos and pounding riffs that show absolutely no mercy.

Most of the rest of the album leads up to the closer quite well by coming at you hard and fast. “Despair”, “Stigma of Divinity” and “Final Declaration”, for instance, thrash right on through with a righteous fury, living up to the name of the latter with riffs that make clear their intentions to set your speakers ablaze. Even their cover of fellow Polish thrash metal band Acid Drinkers’ “Dancing in the Slaughterhouse” is interpreted quite well into this framework, taking a more crossover-tinged track, and pouring that distinctive Vader paint over it. “And Satan Wept” is the most noteworthy not-opening song, though, mainly for the fact that it spends a little over 3 minutes just massacring everything around it with crazy fast soloing, blue fire riffs and that Vader-styled concentrated blasting permeating throughout the entire song.

There’s no escaping Litany and the one-two punch of Welcome to the Morbid Reich and Tibi et Igni as far as top-tier Vader albums are concerned. Solitude in Madness is basically what you’ve come to expect from Vader since forever, but with more of Litany’s expertly controlled blasting added to Tibi et Igni’s more epic, thrashing fury. At the same time, it carries those flames with such aplomb that it stands as another Olympic torch of an offering from Vader.

Any Vader fan worth his OG Ultimate Incantation t-shirt knows what to expect from the Polish progenitors of death metal at this point. For a band that began writing music in their early teens when the most extreme things on the planet were Death's "Scream Bloody Gore" and Kerry King's nail armbands, things haven't changed a whole lot over the span of a dozen full-length albums and just as many EP's and live outputs. Under front-man Peter's guidance, Vader remains an unshakable, inextinguishable presence of the global death metal underground, never venturing too far from the tried-and-true formula that kicked things off for the gang over three decades ago. While this could be perceived as "playing things safe" - and rightly so - I think in Vader's case it's a strength. It's 2020 and we, the fans, have got more bands going down the rabbit-hole of technicality than we know what to do with. So it's refreshing to have a veteran band that doesn't chop off their hair for back-facing baseball caps and trade in their Flying V's for 8-string monstrosities or fret-less bass guitars.

So what makes "Solitude in Madness" stand out from the rest of the Vader catalog? Well, not much to be honest. After a third time listening through it, I realize this album could have just as easily been released ten years ago between "Necropolis" and "Welcome to the Morbid Reich" - two equally strong and consistent albums under the band's bullet-belt. Vader somehow hasn't aged a day in that length of time, so clearly there's something in the beer they're drinking.

The way I mentally break down most Vader albums is this: one or two really great tracks that stand a head above the rest, a handful of good songs, and one or two sub-par throw-away songs. "Solitude..." ended up being no different in this regard. I'll start with two that I felt really had a lot to offer, which just happened to follow right after each other in the track list: Incineration of the Gods and Sanctification Denied. Incineration starts off with a tumbling drum fill and jackhammer kick drums before erupting into a full-blown death metal delight. The song is held together by a strong opening riff that has time to breath in the space between the notes before transforming into a balls-to-the-wall thrash metal number. The dueling vocal tracks are reminiscent of Glen's battling low- vs. high-register growls and screams, only Peter's are less demonic and more standard fare for death metal.

Sanctification's opening riff is by far the most intricate one on the album and the only moment where things start to sound technical. With the bass guitar so high up in the mix and layered over this virtuous guitar flexing, I can't help be reminded yet again of early Deicide, especially their work on "Stench of Redemption". There's also some very spacey guitar screams and a solo that sounds straight out of an Egyptian tomb, and its pounding rhythm section means the only way you're not head-banging or foot-tapping along is if your pulse is flat-lined.

After these two mammoth tracks, the album falls into more standard territory for the next twelve minutes with only a handful of exceptional moments sprinkled in between. For instance, the gang-shouts on And Satan Wept are a nice nod to early 80's Bay Area thrash and match perfectly with the Alex Skolnick-sounding guitar parts and galloping rhythm section. Emptiness is just a fun little death 'n' roll number for smashing beer bottles against the wall at your local Hell's Angels' saloon. I think the album falls to its weakest point on the Dancing in the Slaughterhouse cover. I've never heard of Acid Drinkers before hearing this track and I have no interest in hearing them afterwards. Stigma of Divinity would have been a much stronger follow-up after Final Declaration because of its explosive opening and mid-tempo, bombastic pace.

Bones turned out to be the much-needed reprieve and perfect way to close out the album. What starts out as a straight-forward death 'n' roll sounding tune you might listen to while riding your chopper into the fiery sunset evolves into a speeding bullet of manic energy. It's like Peter and Co. stopped to take a shot of methamphetamine in the recording studio. This fast section could get hospital patients with cervical fractures banging their heads again - it's just plain old fun, bouncing death metal I could imagine a sea of people at Wacken Open Air thrashing along to. It's not worth noting the low points of the album because there really aren't many, only moments that feel weak comparatively in the context of an otherwise strong album with strong songwriting, well crafted guitar parts, and a more-than-capable rhythm section. What we end up with is an album that proves Vader still refuses to compromise; they're not breaking new ground but they ain't burning old bridges either.

My favorite death metal quartet, Vader are back with a new album. It's been four years since their last full length ’The Empire’. Last year they released a teaser EP called ’Thy Messenger’ and now the wait is finally over. ’Solitude in Madness’ has been unleashed onto the world. What a fitting title given the present circumstances which many of us find ourselves in during this turbulent time…

Right from the moment you press the play button, you are greeted by a ferocious barrage of guitar riffs, relentless drum work along with Peter’s brutal growling. The opener Shock And Awe sets the tone for the rest of the album. What we have here are eleven tight-knit tracks of brutal death-thrash metal. The songs are short, fairly simple in structure and lacking the intricate atmospheric parts and intros featured on ‘Tibi et Igni’. They were already heading this direction with ‘The Empire’. However this change of style is not a new thing for Vader. In many ways this bears a lot of similarity to their earlier works, particularly their third release ‘Black To The Blind’, a personal favorite of mine.

For those who are not familiar with the band’s history, Vader started out as a thrash metal outfit and so this is a return to their roots. The thrash metal guitar riffs have always played a key role in what makes Vader stand out and this album is not an exception. Into Oblivion is a vicious beast packed with crushing guitar work and savage drumming. Ready or not, here it comes. You have just two options: either stand and fight it or run for your life! Emptiness and Despair were featured on the ‘Thy Messenger’ EP which I reviewed last year so I will not be discussing those songs. Then there is their cover of Acid Drinkers’ Dancing In The Slaughterhouse. No death metal here, this song is essentially speed-thrash. Full speed ahead, lots of shouting and vicious riffs.

In summary, ‘Solitude In Madness’ doesn’t offer too many surprises. For better or worse it is very straightforward, “textbook” Vader. More of the same death-thrash metal blend, the formula which they have stuck with for decades. For Vader fans like myself, it ticks all the right boxes. It sounds exactly like I was hoping that it would. It is a little short, clocking in at just under thirty minutes but there is not a single weak track on here.

Originally written for: https://valkyrianmusic.com

Vader is undoubtedly one of Europe's strongest and most respected extreme metal institutions. Founded in 1983, with heavy/speed metal foundations, the band gradually evolved into a death thrash signature that combined the band's thrash roots, reminiscent of Slayer, with death metal's brutal approach, which by the end of the eighties was going full steam ahead. This outcome in its primary state can be heard in the band's first two demos Necrolust and Morbid Reich, the latter having even achieved a massive underground success with over ten thousand cassettes sold. In this sense, when Vader released the debut The Ultimate Incantation they were already an unavoidable force both in their homeland as in the European underground circuit. From here on, Peter & Co's plot is well known by all true connoisseurs of the genre. Over three decades, Vader has become an unstoppable machine, releasing eleven full-lengths, among several EPs, singles, live albums and compilations. In short, a vast portfolio with a guaranteed place in the demanding European death metal hall of fame. Each one of us certainly has his favourite Vader album, yet in my opinion there's a triumvirate spread over three decades that reflects the band's DNA splendidly, namely De Profundis, Litany and the almighty Welcome to the Morbid Reich, which is arguably one of my favourite albums of the past decade. One of the band's well-known peculiarities is its immediately recognized sound signature, which has changed little over the years. A bit like Motörhead, if you will. However, even lacking a notorious diversity, Vader has always managed to grab their audience through its genuineness and consistency, as there are inert qualities that simply cannot be faked or manufactured. An attentive audience knows that.

As expected, Solitude in Madness has no intention of reversing the band's artistic direction, on the contrary, it is a foreseeable continuity of the well-known Vader-esque death thrash formula. At no time does Peter get out of his conservative bubble, the tracks have neither stylistic subterfuges nor hidden layers, they're exactly what we would expect. Plain, straightforward Vader. Songs such as 'And Satan Wept', 'Into Oblivion', 'Incineration Of The Gods' or 'Sanctification Denied' are solid deliveries that are sure to please the band's legion. Of these, I would like to highlight 'Sanctification Denied's' final loop and the overwhelming 'And Satan Wept', easily one of the album's best moments. Despite the patent uniformity we still managed to find some contrasting elements, such as speed metal-esque 'Emptiness' and 'Dancing In The Slaughterhouse' that features a crossover thrash approach, which although not surprisingly different is still a contrasting detail worthy of note. Musically, the band is in good shape as usual, with bulletproof professionalism. Peter's rhythm guitar is still among the best of its kind and the solos have that sweet '80s vibe I love so much. As a matter of fact, everything is properly oiled as you would expect in a band with Vader's reputation, either musically or in terms of sound engineering, which guarantees the proper punch to the band's sound. Nevertheless, and despite all its virtues, Solitude in Madness isn't among Peter & Co's most inspired releases, not for its lack of diversity, which was expected, but rather for the absence of memorable songs that could match classics such as 'Sothis', 'Go to Hell' or 'Return to the Morbid Reich', for example. A conservative formula like this one, which gives up innovation, needs to be counterbalanced with high-level songwriting. Something Solitude in Madness has failed to achieve in its fullness.

Solitude in Madness delivers exactly what we would expect from Vader. The question that matters is whether their devoted legion will remain satisfied with this creative loop for much longer. As far as I'm concerned, I will always be receptive to straightforward Vader, yet not everyone listens through a glass half full. Peter & Co should think carefully about their next steps, because in the blink of an eye fans may start looking the other way.

Originally written for www.sputnikmusic.com

There is a certain mystique to the more extreme versions of asceticism that has been a semi-frequent subject of commentary by the death metal scene, with perhaps the most famous visual portrayal of the dark side of this practice being the famed 1993 music video for Morbid Angel's "God Of Emptiness". The song itself was possessed of a murky, slow-trudging atmospheric character that seemed to see said band taking a side interest in the emerging death/doom craze of the day, and the result was a highly nuanced and effective illustration of the slow creep of time that accompanies a life of constant meditation and self-flagellation. This little reminiscence on one of death metal's more commercially successful early ventures is relevant as another seminal figure in the same style's development, namely Poland's premier export Vader, has a radically different take on the diabolical character of a twisted life lived in seclusion while enslaved to a fearsome mode of superstitious rituals, if their latest offering Solitude In Madness is any indication.

While this mad, death thrashing quartet is no stranger to lineup instability and current only features on founding member in guitarist and lead barker Piotr Paweł Wiwczarek (known to the world simply as Peter), they have largely been an exemplar of stylistic and qualitative consistency. Nevertheless, they have done a fair bit of progression since the primordial days of the late 80s when their seminal demo Necrolust put them on the proverbial map, building up to a highly modernized killing machine format that puts the brute in brutality. As with a number of prominent bands in the early days of the sub-genre, their formula has swung like a pendulum between a more streamlined, impact-based mode of raging death that aligns a bit more closely with the Slayer-infused mayhem of early Deicide; and a more nuanced, thrash-based sound that allows for some more development and elements of mid-paced grooving, which tends to result in longer length songs with a bit more going on than the usual assortment of blinding blasts and machine-gun mayhem.

This album belongs to the former aforementioned camp and basically goes right for the jugular in the most relentless and concise of fashions, taking a page out of their 1997 third outing Black To The Blind and largely avoiding any interludes or breakdown segments. In fact, if it were a bit less technical and frenzied, it could almost pass for a sort of extreme crossover variant on the model laid out by Slayer's Reign In Blood, which may serve to explain the inclusion of a cover of Polish crossover outfit Acid Drinkers' "Dancing In The Slaughterhouse", one of the highlights of the lot that provides an interesting twist on the death/thrash aesthetic by being extremely violent yet chock full of infectious gang chorus chime-ins. When accounting for some rather brief and exaggerated moments like the sub-2 minute blast fest "Stigma Of Divinity" and the even shorter and minimalist ditty "Despair", the underlying hardcore elements couldn't be more blatant if Peter and company had brought in Billy Milano for a guest vocal slot.

Nevertheless, this flirtation with crossover doesn't materialize as something as formulaic and stripped down as the recent offerings of Jungle Rot, and the lion's share of these forbidding odes to the moribund exemplify classic Vader at every turn. More developed crushers like "Incineration Of The Gods" and "Bones" showcase a more riff happy and advanced mode of grinding corpses into necrotic paste, the latter actually deviating a fair bit from this outfit's mostly speed-obsessed approach for something that is both punchy and also accessible to modern thrash enthusiasts. But the bulk of these songs tend to rest just shy of the three-minute mark and have their eyes clearly affixed upon maximizing the auditory carnage like a raging typhoon tearing up the Asian coastline, with selections like "Into Oblivion" and the shred-happy monster "Emptiness" being the choice cuts. Particular note should be made of the brilliant lead exchanges between Peter and Spider, which go a bit beyond the typical King vs. Hanneman cliches and end up incorporating a variety of influences from both the late 80s Florida and Bay Area scenes.

Though some will naturally tend to prefer the more ambitious and borderline epic character of some more recent predecessors to this in the mold of Necropolis or Welcome To The Morbid Reich, this is a solid offering from a band that lives and dies by consistency, and most assuredly one that any steadfast fan of both Vader and the death thrashing style at large will enjoy. It presents their sound with zero atmospheric or studio gimmicks apart from what a conventional thrash album would tend to feature, and gets the job done by delivering a series of straight up haymakers to the upper vertebrae. While it may fall a tad short of being the best arrow to be drawn from this band's more than 30 year old quiver, it definitely leaves the bow with an impressive degree of speed and force, and is sure to obliterate whatever game happens to fall within its path. An ironic eventuality for an album with a title that suggests a descent into madness within a quiet setting, but a fitting one when contemplating the storm going on within the mind itself.

Originally written for The Metal Observer (www.metal-observer.com)