Poland death metal experts Vader, release their auspicious debut cd. A mix of various bands' styles, most notably Morbid Angel, Vader practically reduce your audio system to a pile of dust with a vicious, barbaric and unrelenting aural assault. Swirling, million mile an hour riffs, insane vocal howling and my God, enough double bass drum pounding to cause an earthquake of biblical proportions. These guys are just the perfect antidote for that neighbor you dislike. :)

Being a debut record, Vader do fall into many traps; songs that are just faceless and have no identity ("Testimony" "Demons Wind"), a production that is just a bit too polished for death metal, and having their influences come across a little too apparent (Vader are obviously card carrying members of Morbid Angel's fan club). And how many "winds of hell, the coming of doom" intros can you stand? If your answer is "there are never enough intros!", then add another intro to your collection.

 

With that said though, Vader's "Ultimate Incantation" is an effectively formidible death metal disc, and a band with obvious talent and above average musical skills. "Reign Carrion", for my money, is the best track on the disc, serving up equal helpings of doom, thrash and death with plenty of identity and intricate moments. "Breath of Centuries" and the crushing "Final Massacre" are also stand outs.

 

Vader's follow up releases (the brutally ingenious "De Profundis", the hard to find, incredibly awesome mini cd "Sothis", the slightly disappointing, but still good "Black To The Blind" and the just released "Litany") have cemented their postion as one of Death Metal's premier band and are MANDATORY purchases for the dedicated fan. Their debut cd, while not perfect, shows the band in its formidable growth stages and is a worthy purchase for any rabid death metaller. 3 and a half stars is a better indicator.