The Art of War

By 2005, Vader had released a plethora of acclaimed albums, as well as a few EPs. While The Beast might have been lukewarm, what came afterwards was not only their best EP, but perhaps the single best thing they've ever released – The Art of War.

Within 6 tracks and just 17 minutes, the Polish death/thrashers managed to create something that even some grind bands can only dream of. Kicking things of with Para Bellum, one of two instrumental tracks composed by Krzysztof „Siegmar“ Oloś of the symphonic black metal band Vesania. It's a triumphant orchestral piece that keeps up a steady crescendo, leading into This is the War. The overall trend of this EP is foreshadowed here – frenzied guitar work, resonating bass, and the drums. Oh, the drums. Upon hearing the first rapid fire blasts you might think the drummer is either an octopus, or a computer. You'd be wrong howerer, as this is the work of Daray, whose stay over at Vader ended up being quite a brief one, sadly.

The others certainly didn't fall behind, though; Peter is on triple duty. Bass-wise, his playing is solid, nothing really stands out but it creates a nice backbone to the music. Along with Mauser, he's also on guitar, which stays firmly rooted in the death/thrash territory. They manage to churn out a great number of quite simple yet very addictive riffs that are really the main driving force here, and seem to compete for the spotlight with the aforementioned drumming. Overall, this makes each track really stand out. I have to give credit so the precise solos as well, however.

Only the second instrumental Banners on the Wind allows the band and the listener alike to catch a breath, only for them to spew out two more raging songs. Vocals, also managed by Peter, fit the not-quite-death-metal-style perfectly. They're deep and raspy, while not being true growls. This makes them very intelligible throughout the whole EP, and a strong point one might certainly not expect are the choruses. Seriously, they have to be some of the best I've ever heard, and if you don't want to (at least somewhat pathetically like I do) sing along to This is The War or What Colour is Your Blood, I don't know what's wrong with you.

As I've said, each song here stands out, but at the same time the transitions between them are totally flawless. I wouldn't say that this EP has six songs, instead there is just one, with ups and downs, melancholy and aggression, all in one package, ready for listening…