Customer Reviews

Necropolis (Bonus Dvd)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well Vader are back with another cd and what do you get when Peter replaces 75% of the band members? You get Vader!! Most bands would change and Vader chose to remain the same, which may or may not be a good thing, depending on if you're a fan or not. The band opens things up w/Devilizer-which is the slowest song the band has ever opened up a cd with. This is just a mid paced thrasher, that is catchy enough. Next song-Rise of the Undead is pure blasting Vader in all their glory. Blast is exactly what it is a song of relentless blasting for less than 2 minutes. The band has more slower tracks than the last cd Impressions in Blood. A total of 4 slower/mid paced songs and 5 songs of pure blast/grind. Than there are 2 interlude/filler songs which I view as pointless. Really I would much rather hear 2 original blasting songs. So this is a big disappointment for me. Than there are 2 covers Venom's Black Metal and Fight Fire w/Fire, from Metallica. Both songs stay true to the originals and sound great, however I was hoping to hear blast beats thrown in for the Metallica song, but Vader chose to just do an exact replica of each song. I wanted to hear more Vader influence on each song. The packaging/digi pack is great and the dvd is a fantastic live performance from the band. The production on the cd itself is rather crushing w/all the instruments sounding clear and Peter statying true to his vocal style. This is 4 and not a 5 because I am comparing it to fellow countrymen Behemoth's recent Evangelion which tops this. The Behemoth cd is one of this yrs' best and is brutal and epic from start to finish. The new Vader, when compared to the last cd, is missing a little something. I think if the band did not include the 2 filler interludes and made them super brutal songs it may have made a difference. I really have a pet peave about these types of tracks, because to me, it seems like the band just gave up for 2 tracks and wanted to fill space, which is a cop out to me-lazy if you will. Overall this is a quality Vader release that has not left my cd player since last week and I love it, it's just missing a little oomph this time around.

By far, this is the best Vader album since Black to the Blind or Live in Japan. Though, the lineup has changed, you can still hear it's still Vader. I dare to say that changing the band members is the best thing that Peter could have done. I guess there will be a lot comparisons to Behemoth's new CD - pointless in my opinion. Vader plays, I would say, more traditionally, while Behemoth is more extreme right now.
I've listened few times to the whole record, and all I can say is that I've found all the things that I like in Vader's music. No weak moments. Again, the new band members seem to be better suited for Vader's style. Also, the album includes two covers - 'Black Metal' and 'Fight Fire With Fire'. Some may argue that it's not very original, but it's also part of Vader. They've been recording covers since forever, and they've always done it great.
If you're looking for classic death/thrash, this is a must have for you.

So everyone understands, I am a huge Vader fan from almost the beginning (De Profoundus era) and the cover album Futures of the Past blew my mind (especially the Terrorizer covers). Anyway, I think we can all agree, the best Vader era was when Doc was behind the drum kit. After his untimely passing, everyone wondered who they would get to replace him and how that would affect Vader. Then the Art of War came out with Datay on drums and my fear was immediately relieved. Although he wasn't Doc (there will never be another one), he showed he could hang with Vader and further proved it on the XXV release with all the re-recorded versions of the older songs...

Which now brings me to Necropolis with a whole new line-up. I remember downloading a couple songs before it's release and feeling pretty good about it. So, day of release, I went and bought the new CD with the bonus DVD. First thing I noticed was the album was a little slower than previous Vader. Sure they had their trademark blastbeats but there seemed to be filler tracks that had alot of upbeat/double bass tracks that seemed to not go anywhere. It was the inclusion of the two cover tracks that saved the album for me...

Then the next thing I know, they were on tour so not wanting to ruin the Vader live experience, I refrained from watching the DVD and trekked down to the gig. There wasn't a whole lot of people there so I was able to walk up to front row, hang off to the side a little bit to be able to watch the drummer and I was horrified at what I saw. When he blastbeated, it sounded good but when the change would come, you would see the stick stop and still hear the snare before switching!?! At first, I thought my eyes and ears were playing tricks on me. But it occurred over and over again and I came to realize that he was using a delayed trigger affect on the snare. And then to top it off, when he went into the fast/double hi-hat beat (you know, the Slayer like beat which is faster), he wasn't even doing that right either. He was hitting the snare and hi-hat at the same time and not even doubling up the hi-hats. And even though they were the headliner, they only played 40 minutes and only played two older tracks...

So after coming home and being completely bummed, I checked out the Necropolis DVD and sure as pooh, the drumming was the same although they panned away before you saw what I saw live. I know this is supposed to be a review of the CD but I gotta say, the live show ruined it for me and it's all I see and hear now. Maybe he has improved on the new album coming this year "Welcome to the Morbid Reich" but one thing I know for sure, I will be hearing the whole thing before plucking down my hard earned money first or will wait for the used bin to check it out...

Necropolis shows Vader's return to awesome form. This is the best album since Back to the Blind or De Profundis. Vader does an excellent job of making Necropolis fun to listen to with longer/shorter/longer arrangement of songs plus the vocals have gotten more tangible. Standout tracks - "Devilizer", "Rise of the Undead", "Blast", "Dark Heart", "Anger", and "When the Sun Drowns in Dark".

Wow this album is amazing. Do I have to say anything else? It's Vader. You already know what it sounds like. Can you believe this band has been around since 1983? Still in top form. Just wow. Crushing, brutal, etc... just plain excellent.

To me, this is my idea of a perfect Death Metal album... Great songs, Riffs galore, furious drumming, quirky/scary little interludes and flawless production, as to be expected from VADER as their entire catalog is the bible of Death Metal if you asked me... Get this album and you may finally understand the difference between a polish sausage and a hotdog.

VADER once again impresses with their newest release "Necropolis". From start to finish it's a true showing of what a Death Metal band should put out...a brutal beat down full of memorable riffs and outstanding solos along with hammering bass work and machine gun drumming...and like any other VADER album it's all here in full effect. The cd starts off with "Devilizer" the traditional VADER beat down at break neck headbanging tempo follwed by the memorable chorus filled "Rise of the Undead" with every other track "Never Say My Name", "Blast", a brief intermission "The Seal", the outstanding "Dark Heart" and the slower chuga lug and catchy "Impure" then the epic "Anger" hits after another intermission "Summoning the Futura".....and it all ends with "When the Sun Drowns in Dark" a slowed down more melodic VADER approach right after the masterpiece "We Are the Horde" extra tracks being 2 covers that beat the utter pants off the originals Venom's "Black Metal" and Metallica's "Fight Fire With Fire" which both sound as I aforementioned much more powerful than the originals....I got lucky and scored the European "Blood Pack" edition which has early versions of songs "Rise of the Undead" and "Impure" which are welcome editions to this already awesome cd....VADER once again have impressed and released a truly powerful metal album with "Necropolis" one that will not dissapoint old fans or new fans alike....this is easily my fave album of 09' thus far and will be a tough one to top....5 stars well deserved and probably VADER's best work in over a decade...excellent release from one of the best and hardest working metal bands in the world!

Coming off of the heals of "Impressions in Blood", I didn't know what to expect from a new Vader album. "Necropolis" represents a much more refined and focused musical venture. There is not a lot of experimentation here and absolutely no sparkle and shine. It is pure, dark hatred. I was surprisingly pleased with this album. For years Vader was always a peripheral band, but this work has pushed them into the forefront of my listening cycle.