Vader

Necropolis

Moja dupa i twoja twarz to blizniacy | Metal Blade

If summons to Xul and creatures of darkness had any place in metal, they’d be on a Vader record. Frontman Piotr Wiwczarek’s been at this for longer than all of us combined. He’s got two years on Possessed’s Seven Churches and Death’s Scream Bloody Gore, three years on Sepultura’s Morbid Visions and four years on Repulsion’s Horrified. Vader’s like the center of the metal universe nobody knew about until the Iron Curtain fell.

Quick, technically proficient and unfailingly intense, Necropolis is—with the assistance of new guitarist Waclaw “Vogg” Kieltyka (Decapitated)—Vader’s finest since Revelations. But it doesn’t sound like it at first. That could be Vader’s profound ability to rewrite past albums or Wiwczarek’s signature guitar tone (a huge influence on Polish death). On tracks “Never Say My Name,” “Anger” or “Impure,” Vader’s AC/DC syndrome makes it all too easy to draw parallels to classics “The Crucified Ones,” “Sothis” and “The Nomad.” Listen closer and the Poles have never been this all-around good. Even with Doc on skins. The riffing, particularly on “Devilizer,” “Dark Heart” and seven-minute Kreator-esque closer “When the Sun Drowns in Dark,” is world class. The soloing—melodic phrases, trade-offs, dive bombs—is equally fantastic.

While death metal’s gone through all kinds of phases and subdivisions, and countrymen Behemoth presently have the world’s attention, a true original always stands out. Necropolis is thoroughly Vader. Yeah, nine albums in, Vader’s still top dog. Wasn’t Xul the name of the Sumerian dog deity in Ghostbusters? Wiwczarek’s got a sense of humor after all.

—Chris Dick

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