Customer Reviews

Blood + Reign Forever World

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For me, one of the things that separates high quality exceptional death metal from the average stuff is if the songs are easily distinguishable from one another, have a variety of tempo in the riffing, and (just personally) limited use of blast beats. This release (actually 2 releases on one disc) by Vader really does it for me - I just want to crank it up loud. Vader have figured one thing out that a lot of DM bands haven't - that ultra speed and blast beats are most effective when they aren't the only thing in the song. There are some thrash elements here, and this death thrash mix is just a perfect mix, tremelo picking and speedy riffs from the death metal side and some palm muting and breakdown thrash parts - it all gives the album DYNAMICS, which you aren't going to find on something like an Exhumed album. Choice tracks on this bad boy are Reign Forever World, Shape Shifting, We Wait, and Lord of Desert

Let me Say that this is the First Death Metal CD that I have bought. I started downloading stuff like Morbid Angel, Monstrosity, Malevolent Creation, Possessed, and Macabre (funny stuff), several others and Vader. Out of all of them, it was Vader that jumped out at me and grabbed my short attention span the most. Vocalist/Guitarist Peter manages to have somewhat of an original Death Metal Growl and can actually be heard (unlike Cannibal Corpse). The drummer Doc is amazing. I'll put it like this, Doc sends Dave Lombardo running for his life! But back to the record.

It's 2 of their EP's put on 1 CD for us Americans. 1 problem though. Apparently The Angel of Death (Thin Lizzy Cover) is removed for the Blood EP portion. (Check out the Imports) Vader grabs your attention and doesn't let go, except on the Keyboard intro Red Dunes. On the album as a whole, it great; but the problem is that on tracks 1 and 2 there is a small background clicking noise when it gets quiet. It's as if the CD is scratched. (I know its not scratched, because I downloaded the 2 tracks before buying it) This is because they were produced in a different area. It isn't that bad on We Wait, but its annoying on Shape Shifting. It is however less noticeable if you don't listen to it on headphones. The rest of the record(s) is great.

The track As the Fallen Rise gets straight to the point. (There's a Shredding Solo 3 seconds into it!) Tracks 10-12 are covers; the most interesting is Freezing Moon because of Peter's bizarre vocals. The Live Versions of Creatures of Light and Darkness and Carnal barely sound live except for the vocals. It then closes with the fantastic Lord of Desert. Why not 5 stars? Because of the lack of the thin Lizzy Cover and judging from other stuff I've heard from these guys, this is nothing! I originally was going to purchase Black to the Blind, but the cursed Record store didn't have anything else. This, my friends, is good Death Metal. Stuff Straight from Poland.

Unlike other bands, Vader continues to be brutally heavy year after year. This Polish (awesome) band has amazing guitars that leave other bands scratching their heads as to how they can play that fast. The drummer is also a master at his art, and his skill is shown vividly on Blood and Reign Forever World.
Both these albums contain mountains of solos, heavy riffing, and skilled drums. The vocals are also wonderful, escaping the gore metal growls of cannibal coprse while still having a certain degree of heaviness and death about them. Song after song Vader delivers without compromise. The live songs on Reign Forever World are a welcome addition to the album, Carnal being sent to new heights of energy. The covers are also a pleasant surprise, one Judas Priest song and the great Freezing Moon performed with a mastery that it never was before.
For any fan of metal, black, death, or thrash this band will not disappoint.

What's good about it?

Vader's latest Metal Blade release is a combination of their 2001 studio release Reign Forever World and their 2003 EP Blood. Essentially, you get a splattering of Vader's most recent work combined with two live tracks and three covers. No matter who's behind it, death metal is just plain brutal and Vader is damn proud to have that label. Rapid solos, heavily distorted riffs, and raw vocals explode on the opening track "Shape Shifting." Let's face it; you know that formula is not going to change. Vader whips right through three of their two-minute blood soaked anthems; "As the Fallen Rise Again," "Son of Fire," and "Traveler." Each track is more intense then the last. You'll feel the heat as Peter unleashes some punishing vocals that will surely open the gates of hell and release the evil within. Although some of the guitar and drum work tend to sound alike, Vader changes up the rhythm just enough to notice a difference.

Vader's lead ax-men could sure give Eddie Van Halen, Marty Friedman, and other shredders a run for their money on "Frozen Paths." How they can play that fast and hit every note is beyond me. There are a lot of satanic references on "Privilege of the Gods," and that's not any different from the album as a whole. The guitars are deafening on "Reign Forever World," and nothing's wrong with that (what did you say?). Vader's covers of "Total Disaster" (Destruction) and "Freezing Moon" (Mayhem) may be true to the original, but I really don't know. However, I never imagined that "Rapid Fire" (Judas Priest) could be so heavy and still enjoyable. The two live tracks, "Creatures of Light and Darkness" and "Carnal," are nearly flawless. It must have been a weeknight when they were recording: the applause sounds like there are no more than twenty people in the room.

Anything bad?

The intensity is all but sucked away on the one-minute keyboard instrumental "Red Dunes."

Bottom Line

If you like your guitars heavy, ultra-fast, and intense; your drums rapid and head pounding; and your vocals loud, harsh, and brutal; Vader will not let you down. Overall, the mixture of studio, live, covers, and instrumentals are a little inconsistent.

Hey, it's Vader. It may not be their best release, but like I said, it's Vader! I enjoy every cd they've put out, and hearing the two live songs on this cd brings me back to when I got to see them live. Reign Forever World has better songs than Blood, but both are very enjoyable.

I have both "Blood" and "Reign Forever World" on seperate discs on their respective import versions. "Blood" I just recently got and I have to say that I think I'm noticing a trend in this band. They always seem to put out a full length album that destroys, and then put out an ep the following year that's lackluster in comparison. In this case, "Blood" is the the follow-up ep to "Revelations". The production's great as usual, and the band performs the material flawlessly, but the songs themselves sound like they have been pieced together from very similar riffs and structure patterns used in "Revelations", to the point where I would hear a part and immediatly hear a strong resemblance to another song part from their last album. There's a lot of recycling in their riffs these days. Also, these songs don't seem as catchy as their full length material. It's almost as if they put together ep material from the stuff they had left over from the previous album's recording sessions. "Blood" does have some highlights, however. "Son of Fire" is a short, fast paced riff storm that for some reason was left out of the U.S. release of "Revelations". This song absolutely kills. "Shape-Shifting" is a pretty solid track as well, with Doc doing some pretty interesting and all out pummeling drum patterns. "Angel of Death" is a Thin Lizzy cover and does a good job of reviving an old classic and giving it that death metal makeover. These guys are pretty good at that, and I always enjoy their covers. The rest of this ep consists of some so-so, "been there-heard that" material and a track pulled from "Revelations".

The "Reign Forever World" ep I've had for a few years and I just don't listen to it that much. It was the ep follow-up to "Litany" and is pretty much the same deal. Three of the tracks were thrown onto the end of the U.S. "Revelations" release, and they're more like filler material anyway, so if you have that, then there's really no point to delving into this ep except to hear a pretty cool Mayhem cover and a few live tracks.

All in all, not a lot to offer the listener in the way of concert-worthy, A-side material or signature tracks. But I bet they'll be getting a lot of requests for "Son of Fire" after this.

Vader is not my favorite band but they do kick some serious ass.
Doc is a madman on the drums with pummeling double-bass assaults
and intense skin banging,great vocals and killer riffs and solo's
.This Vader album is probably the best yet.It's really the only one i've gotten into.This is not death-metal(it has talent in it)
if you are a death metal fan and are into Cannibal Corpse,Morbid
Angel,Deceide then you will not like this.Now if your a fan of
Slayer you will like this to an extent.But if you're like me and
are a big fan of heavy metal/metalcore and like bands like As I
Lay Dying,Bleeding Through,Lamb Of God,Killswitch Engage,Chimaira
,Poison The Well,Pantera,Slipknot,e.t.c then Vader's Blood+Reign
Forever World will be a God-send.Get it now.