The Art of War

Vader’s previous album, The Beast, was a letdown by Vader standards. In battle terms, it petered out like a poorly conceived offensive, having a vague goal but lacking the techniques, designs, and ideas to call it a success. A dull dip like that would be a red flag for any band, let alone Vader and their legacy. Conversely, The Art of War is a breakthrough counterattack that completely removed any notion that this band was losing it. It’s juiced, inimitably charming, and so god damn powerful that it’s easy to see why it’s beloved.

Within the span of 17 minutes, there’s little room for rest. If the band isn’t blitzing and blasting, they’re bombarding and exploding with ceaseless aggression. There’s a compelling martial prowess packed in this thing from the very start. Relentless brutality that’s catchy as shit. It sometimes reaches suffocating levels of stampeding death metal. I’m surprised how easily they were able to quickly recapture epic hooks while maintaining this sheer heaviness without going outside their standard formula. There are two keyboard instrumentals which I find to be a little unnecessarily long considering what the rest of this bite-sized behemoth offers. For the sake of flavor, though, I totally get it. Need a little dose of class to go with that destruction. They add to the album’s cinematic qualities and help as breathers between the big hits.

Man, do these five songs hit hard. They all have their own trademark death / thrash identities teeming with straightforward flow and superhuman musicianship. You get “This is the War” continuing the build-up of “Para Bellum” with its furious doom-march blowing up into a machine-gun fast charge. The drumming on this is fucking nuts! Is Daray an octopus?! Blast beats so fast only a cephalopod could do it! The deafening thunder of “Lead Us!!!” follows, initially reminiscent of Bolt Thrower before segueing into Vader’s distinctive crunch. The modern production gives these songs a warm weightiness to it so everything comes at you full force. None as memorable as “What Colour Is Your Blood”, arguably the funnest song Vader ever wrote. It’s anchored by a simple, unforgettable riff and guns it all the way until the bridge when it goes full-on infectious thrash break. I can’t stop myself from growling right along with Peter as he roars, “WHAT COLOUR IS YOUR BLOOD?!”

The Art of War is the little guy – the courageous underdog that’s got a lot of heart and the chops to pulverize just as well as any good Vader album. It was the band’s statement that they weren’t set on losing steam, rebounding with brutal intent. You could stack this up against most full-length death metal albums and it’d still be able to compete. It’s the not-so hidden gem in the vast Vader-verse that shouldn’t go unnoticed or unheard.