XXV

XXV was my first Vader experience. Absent of expectations, my virgin ears heard this compilation in pure accordance to the band's vision. For instance, on the song Reign-Carrion, I personally worship the newly manifested keyboards. Veteran Vader supporters of the 20th century may better know that song's less harmonic counterpart from the band's infamous 1990 demo. Regardless of the version, each track equally flays mortal man. This is Vader simply honoring their own 25 year legacy. Who better to do so than themselves?

Referring to this compilation as mere "re-recordings" is a common mistake for humans with limited vocabularies. No, these are highly creative reinterpretations of past accomplishments from one of the most esteemed death metal bands on the planet. As a standalone album, XXV is a worthy hour and a half time investment. Although originating from various albums, these tracks are maturely bonded together by an underlying theme: chaos!

More specifically, organized chaos. With the aptly titled first full song, Vader chimes the pandemonium war bells to commence the assault. Blasting out of the gate with unholy precision, the onslaught feels chaotic but, you know this attack is entirely premeditated. Each band member is a battle-hardened commander whose well-honed instrument forces a jaw tightened teeth grinding. Materializing in your blind spot throughout this fog of war, Peter's wordless howls are like haymakers you subconsciously knew were coming. XXV is intentionally arranged to deliver the greatest impact and, as if leading an army of InVaders from the front lines, Vader brings this world to its knees.

Earth is conquered. To quote the song Dark Transmission, Vader now aims to control all of time and space:

Strings of the universe vibrate
Sending black messages ahead
Mutant waves across the world
Chaos is on the air

Alongside tempo changes that one would expect from interstellar radio emissions, the keyboard synth in Dark Transmission completes the chaotic formula. Like light traveling faster than sound, the ethereal piano notes arrive moments before the mayhem. This is an outstanding reinterpretation of an old song! With keyboard contributions from the infamous Siegmar, additional tracks such as Silent Empire, Carnal and Kingdom are elevated in their blasphemy. Much like Siegmar's deeds on Behemoth's song "Ov Fire and the Void" on the album "Evangelion," any justification for Christianity crumbles under the weight of such aural monoliths. The sooner the human race bows to these Polish demigods as rulers of this universe, the better.

Seriously, consider performing these tracks for decades to a live audience. Perhaps while you were reading this, Vader may very well have been playing them again. And, again. Along such an enduring journey, truly creative artists would contemplate new ways to portray their past successes. For many tracks, the original foundations remain intact while new darkened melodies are explored. For others, songs are reignited with 21st century production. Across these reinterpretation styles, Vader is praiseworthy in their confidence to publish a milestone such as XXV. Few bands ever earn the opportunity to even attempt such a feat.

I recall a vivid memory from 2008: I was browsing compact discs in the mall, alone. It was here that XXV beckoned me from amongst the rows of plastic masses... In the subsequent years that followed, this beast eroded the ears of those in a certain Jeep Cherokee Sport; against the will of many a passenger. Nowadays, a different Cherokee more often plays my favorite CDs Necropolis and Welcome to the Morbid Reich. But when XXV demands entry into the compact disc player, the reinterpretations of Crucified Ones and Xeper duly honor my ear's past sacrifices.

XXV has taught me that hearing impairment is a cyclical phenomenon. As the sound of metal music rises, auditory perception falls. In turn, the metal must further rise again. And, again. If black is to the blind then tinnitus is to my deafness.

Surviving a quarter of a century in the music industry is no mean feat, especially if you're a death metal band from Poland. This is a band that predates Death, Morbid Angel and Mayhem. This is a band that has one of the most circulated DM demos of all time (Morbid Reich). This is a band that became the very first eastern European act, not just metal, to sign to a western label and then go on to issue such genre defining classics like 'De Profundis' and 'Litany'. With all of this in mind, not to forget that they're still going strong, this anniversary compilation should've been up there with Cannibal Corpse's 'Centuries of Torment'.

Instead we get two disc's of re-recorded classics and some shoddy bootleg video footage (provided you get the limited edition with DVD). Besides the added keyboards on a few tracks such as 'Carnal', 'Silent Empire' 'Dark Transmissions' and a cover or two, you're basically getting songs you already own played in EXACTLY the same way as the originals but with modern, polished production and the odd different lead break and/or drum fill. As well as these songs are performed, I can't help but think it's an unnecessary exercise as a whole.

Granted, by the time this was released, Vader were onto about label number four so the idea of showing their progression as songwriters, musicians and bigger studio budgets from album to album probably wasn't an option. For example: Metal Blade may have granted permission for the material they owned the rights to for use, but System Shock and Earache may not have, hence the re-recording idea.

Label politics aside, this is what I would have done if I was Peter: Held onto the 'And Blood Was Shed In Warsaw' DVD for another year, added a documentary DVD, much like the previously mentioned Cannibal career retrospective, which would include interviews with past members and show footage of the early days as well as some of the better quality bootleg material. A CD would be included packed (and given the average length of a Vader song, you could get at least 20 of the vicious little bastards to a disc), of previously unreleased/rare material like demo's, album left overs, live tracks and a few (just a few), re-recorded songs. This is how I would have a celebrated 25 years of top quality and always dependable death metal. The only real significant feature to my mind is that it was the last recording of the Peter/Mauser/Novy/Daray line-up.

Yes, I'm a huge Vader fan so naturally I brought this a few days after its release, but I can't help feeling short-changed. The price of being a die-hard I suppose.

Some bands end up releasing tons of albums by sticking to pretty close to the 2 year tour/album cycle. Vader has done exactly that, and then some with a couple of albums released 1 year after another, and tons of little EPs floating around too. With all those releases, songs can get lost in the shuffle. For a band like Vader, it makes sense to go back and re-record a lot of old songs instead of actually making a new album this time around, as it would probably create even more songs that would fall into the cracks.

Vader of course has a signature death metal sound that usually hangs on those quick, tremolo picked riffs done just in a way that you can tell is Vader, as well as Peters signature voice, and those hyper-blast beats. Over the years, Vader has really perfected the formula into crafting some songs that are truly catchy in the world of death metal. As I said though, it was a craft that took time to perfect, and those same signature tremolo picked riffs and top-speed drums which constitute the large majority of the tracks on this album, meaning that not only do some of those early songs lack some identity and begin to blur into one another, but the whole effort can chip away at your resolve. Considering that this is a dual-disc album with 26 songs, at 95 minutes long, that’s a whole lot of Vader to take in all at once!

Of course, if you haven’t gotten very many Vader releases before their 2006 album “Impressions in Blood”, you’re getting tons of Vader value for your buck, so this is a big plus on the quantity scale. Personally, I do still recommend the latest Vader albums, as they tend to be built as a whole, and the writing scale has been tweaked pretty well over the years.

Originally posted at www.waytooloud.com