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Review Summary: A renewal of focus from a band that seemed to be growing stale, this was one Hell of an experience from a stalwart of the old-school death metal sound. Absolutely essential listening. When listening to 'Necropolis,' the highly disappointing eighth studio album from Polish death metal veterans Vader, it became apparent that the band was running out of steam and that their albums were becoming bloated. For a band that has done little to adapt their particular style of old-school aggression, they had definitely accumulated some baggage in their sound that needed stripping back in something of a return-to-their-roots approach. 2011's 'Welcome To The Morbid Reich' signals this intent simply by recalling the title of their seminal demo, and emerges as the band's most focussed work since their masterpiece 'Litany.'
Fans of the band will already know exactly what to expect with 'Welcome To The Morbid Reich,' but may find themselves taken aback by the renewed focus and creativity in the riffing here. The stop-start chugging of "Return To The Morbid Reich" recalls "Sothis," whilst the slowed down bridge section of "The Black Eye" finds the band's songwriting reaching new heights. Released as a digital single prior to the album's launch, "Come And See My Sacrifice" is an essential listen for any fan of old-school death metal laced with modern production values. The opening tremolo-picked riff and the abundant drum fills lead into an addictive riff that cuts like a razor through melting butter. Who would have known that Vader still possessed the ability to write an album to this standard?
One standout element of the band, that forever goes overlooked, is the vocal work of Piotr Wiwczarek. Piotr's voice is both distinctive and effective, with extra emphasis added to moments of particular emphasis, whilst he settles into a monotone roar during the verses that compliments the riffing perfectly. His lead playing here is also among the best in his career, keeping things relatively simple by avoiding the trend of the current era with no sweep picking or bezerk finger-tapped sections. These solos are pure shredding, with some good melodies to be picked out, and are a far cry from the tasteless noise and squealing found on some of their prior records.
This album is remarkably effective in its sense of structure also. "Decapitated Saints," is a re-recorded cut from their debut album 'The Ultimate Incantation,' and feels even more impressive here, standing proudly as a shorter cut towards the end of the album that maintains the listener's interest before the eventual grand finale. "Black Velvet And Skulls Of Steel" begins with an almost industrial-sounding crawl through various power chords, providing an ominous atomsphere. This is a bleak track, with some fabulous riffs and a central solo that is a titanic victory for the band overall. One has to wonder how the band can go from the boundless aggression of "Come And See My Sacrifice", to the perplexing atmospherics of this closer, and if the band's career had ended here it would have been a fitting send-off.
In summary, 'Welcome To The Morbid Reich' feels absolutely essential in a modern death metal market flooded with hyper-technicality and constant time signature changes, standing defiant as proof that the older acts can still churn out something of their own era and sound relevant. In many ways, this is the strongest work that the band has ever produced. The crunchy sound to the guitars, the pristine tones found throughout, the excellent vocals, and the overall songwriting breathed new life into a band on the ropes, and whilst I personally feel 'Litany' is the stronger album, there is an argument for recommending this over that one. This is a complete triumph, and one I recommend to all death metal fans.
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Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off
My favorite Vader 🔥
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
I think I prefer Litany but at this point its so close. This has that big bombastic sound to it, Litany has the best songwriting
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
probably my favorite vader too
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
This is definitely a fun album to come back to.
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vader's been stale for years, actually music's been stale for years
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
To be fair, this came out over a decade a go and is still a bop.
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gnocchi is a bop
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Great album
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“with extra emphasis added to moments of particular emphasis”
might wanna rephrase this.
also, peter isn’t the one doing all the leads, the other guitarist as well. and there’s plenty of sweep picking and i’m assuming tapping as well (though i can’t be totally sure because i haven’t listened to the album in a while).
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
and there’s plenty of sweep picking and i’m assuming tapping as well
Reviewer is plenty adamant about a certain lack of sweeps, however they're generally speaking randomly over the album's solos. This guy thought he'd point out I was wrong to mention them in my review eleven years ago so I had to double take and go back to confirm there are in fact sweeps.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
I didnt say theres no tapping at all as there is, just not an overwhelming amount
As a pretty solid guitarist myself who can play some songs off here including solos, there are no sweeps whatsoever on this album but if you two feel there are that's fine. Literally nothing anywhere tab wise shows any either
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Being a self proclaimed anything doesn’t mean you’re right here. But I’d be more worried that you can’t identify some simple guitar patterns and techniques while dismissing the truth in favour of your incorrect narrative. You do you boo.
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“As a pretty solid guitarist myself who can play some songs off here including solos, there are no sweeps whatsoever on this album but if you two feel there are that's fine. Literally nothing anywhere tab wise shows any either”
i’m a shit guitarist and i listened to that “come and see my sacrifice” song that you’re talking about in the review and if the guy ain’t sweeping at 4:20 blaze it fgt then i must have some misconceptions about what sweeping is (there’s sweeping right before that section as well and i suspect a small bit in the earlier solo, too, but 4:20 is blatantly obvious)...
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
"i’m a shit guitarist and i listened to that “come and see my sacrifice” song that you’re talking about in the review and if the guy ain’t sweeping at 4:20 blaze it fgt then i must have some misconceptions about what sweeping is (there’s sweeping right before that section as well and i suspect a small bit in the earlier solo, too, but 4:20 is blatantly obvious)..."
Its actually runs of 2 notes per string, but whatever you say man
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEBnxHH3qNc
Pretty sure there's sweeps there, dickhead
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Damn, you’ve brought on the virgin comments from the “user who signed up just to tell you you’re wrong” class.
But hey I’m on the DeathMetalReviews side. Sweeps notes go sweeping.
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"Damn, you’ve brought on the virgin comments from the “user who signed up just to tell you you’re wrong” class. "
Signed up a while ago, been reviewing an album and I saw this dipshit talking on stuff he literally knows nothing o. "I can play that song" tf outta here.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
I like you. Stick around.
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If this lying cocksucker could actually play the song, he'd have it on YouTube as - to date - there are zero covers of most later Vader material on there which I can only attribute to the fact it is surprisingly complex, as albums such as this one are generally every bit as renowned and popular as their early material, if not more so purely because of the ease of access these days.
Basically, if you truly aren't just a liar or deluded cocksmoker, post a cover of your way of playing the solos that doesn't involve the sweep picking clearly seen in the two live videos I have seen of it, and my own eyes when I witnessed them play Come And See My Sacrifice.
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“Its actually runs of 2 notes per string, but whatever you say man“
yes, whatever i say. btw, just because it’s two notes per string doesn’t mean you can’t sweep it. oh, and it’s also not two notes per string.
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