Vader Blood/Reign Forever World CD

You have to hand it to Vader for being one of the most consistent underground acts throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the Polish group churning out album after album (after album) of commendable, no-frills death metal, while most members of the species insist on utilizing the same off-the-rack riffs ad nauseum. Not to say Vader ever broke any new ground with its Morbid Angel and Reign in Blood worship, but the Poles' songwriting skills often vault the group into the upper quadrant of the DM genre. That said, this release is a hodgepodge conglomeration of leftovers culled from imports, '03's Reign in Blood EP, and '01's Reign Forever World 10-tracker. It's not exactly an ideal introduction to Vader's precision bloodshed (see Litany or Revelations), even if the first four tracks, "Shape-Shifting" (old-school dive-bomber death metal, meticulously arranged), "We Wait" (mid-tempo sludge peppered with thrashy Kreator riffs) and "To the Fallen Rise" and "Son of Fire" (two minutes each of unwavering, white-hot Slayer blasts), are terrific. Otherwise, Blood/Reign Forever World is a somewhat inconsistent jaunt through diehard-only fodder: Two random live tracks; entertaining but novel Mayhem, Destruction, and Judas Priest covers; a few leftover studio cuts; and a pointless instrumental. Still, this disc successfully achieved its goal -- namely, holding over diehard fans in the (approximately) six minutes between full-fledged Vader releases. ~ John Serba

Poland's Vader have always believed in instant gratification. Their hammerhead death metal riffs pack no punches, tell no lies -- they just pummel away in wonderfully gimmick-free fashion. Having said that, rarely has the band unleashed such a uniformly vicious and speedy release as 2003's Blood E.P. Though this may seem surprising at first, one need only look back to the band's previous album, 2002's Revelations, for clues. Because said album was uncharacteristically dominated by some of the slower, most measured songwriting of Vader's long career, it's only natural that there be plenty of thrashers left over from its sessions -- and that's where positively scorching numbers like "Us the Fallen Rise," "Son of Fire," and "When Darkness Calls" come in. [The Blood E.P. was later reissued by Metal Blade, minus the band's cover of Slayer's "Reign in Blood," but coupled with 2001's odds 'n' sods collection, Reign Forever World.] ~ Eduardo Rivadavia

Recorded in August 2000.

2 LP's on 1 CD: BLOOD/REIGN FOREVER WORLD.

Vader: Peter (vocals, guitar); Mauser (guitar); Shambo (bass); Doc (drums).