Vader

Recognized as many to be the first major Polish death metal band, Vader has delighted fans of the genre for many years. The band has stuck to its roots since the very beginning, keeping their sound simple, yet effective at the same time. The band has had plenty of lineup changes, with the only consistent member to date being vocalist/guitarist Piotr Wiwczarek.

Vader formed in 1983 and spent their first decade in existence working on demos and building up a following. Their third demo, 1990’s Morbid Reich, would be a huge underground hit, and helped them land a record deal with Earache Records. 1993’s The Ultimate Incantation took all the songs from Morbid Reich, plus a few new ones.

The band would leave Earache soon after, signing with Impact Records. Vader would release their sophomore album De Profundis, the 1996 cover album Future Of The Past and 1997’s Black To The Blind with Impact.

Vader would get another record deal, this time with Metal Blade. 2000’s Litany was the first album released under the new deal, and was a huge hit in the death metal scene. The band toured all across Europe, alongside heavyweights like Vital Remains and Dying Fetus.

With 2002’s Revelations and 2004’s The Beast, Vader became world-renowned for their forceful and heavy sound. The band played many big shows during this time, including opening for Metallica in 2004 in front of over 50,000 people.

In 2006, Vader released Impressions In Blood, an album that showed the band experimenting with slightly-more complex songwriting. Vader recently was a part of the 2008 Summer Slaughter Tour, alongside Cryptopsy, The Faceless, and Kataklysm.

Cannibal Corpse, Behemoth, Decapitated, Hate

Piotr "Peter" Wiwczarek - Vocals, Guitar
Waclaw "Vogg" Kieltyka - Guitar
Tomasz "Reyash" Rejek - Bass
Pawel "Paul" Jaroszewicz - Drums

Piotr Tomaszewski - Vocals (1985)
Robert "Czarny" Czarneta - Vocals (1986-1988)
Zbigniew "Vika" Wróblewski - Guitar (1983-1986)
Jaroslaw "China" Łabieniec - Guitar (1991-1997)
Maurycy "Mauser" Stefanowicz - Guitar (1997-2008)
Robert "Astaroth" Struczewski - Bass (1986)
Jacek "Jackie" Kalisz - Bass (1988-1991, 1993)
Piotr "Berial" Kuziola - Bass (1991-1992)

Leszek "Shambo" Rakowski - Bass (1993-2001)
Konrad "Saimon" Karchut - Bass (2002-2003)
Marcin “Novy” Nowak - Bass (2003-2008)
Grzegorz "Belial" Jackowski - Drums (1986-1987)
Krzysztof “Docent” Raczkowski - Drums (1988-2005)
Dariusz "Daray" Brzozowski - drums (2005-2008)

1993 The Ultimate Incantation (Earache)
1994 The Darkest Age (Baron)
1995 De Profundis (Impact)
1996 Future Of The Past (Impact)
1997 Black To The Blind (Impact)
1998 Live In Japan (System Shock)
2000 Litany (Metal Blade)
2002 Revelations (Metal Blade)
2004 The Beast (Metal Blade)
2005 The Art Of War EP (Regain)
2006 Impressions In Blood (Regain)
2008 XXV Compilation (Regain)
2009 Necropolis (Nuclear Blast)

Litany
Clocking in at a short 30 minutes, Vader’s fourth studio album of original material tore through the metal landscape, slaughtering all in its path. Blazing past eleven tracks of brutal death metal, there is no room in the band’s songwriting for a calm moment or brief reprisal, save for an acoustic guitar that pops up in “The One Made Of Dreams.” The production is beefy and the band is at the top of their game, making Litany a strong recommendation for death metal fans.