Vader

"Revelations"
(Metal Blade) 

"Revelations…" featuring this ghastly hell spawn trouncing a poor city in the dead of night… Prophetic? As with many, the nature of evil is inherent in others and projected by those with a voice… none come through as deafeningly loud as Vader. Hard to imagine they began in an almost Slayer-like decade and a half ago, and though their "The Ultimate Incantation" debuted in '93, have nearly matched records with years and tour mileage since. And the stress shows on their faces, without a doubt, even on through the menacing scowls. Welcome aboard new bassist Simon, replacing Shambo and thought enough of for back cover close-up. Nothing new here… profound maybe, but then that is their wont, it's an uphill battle this trudging through Hell's bowels and Vader, to their credit, their longevity suggests they've gotten the job done record after record, never straying far from their original path, never in the way of direct sunlight. So while there'll be some who'll bitch and moan about progress-though I'd doubt as many where "Death" and progress are concerned, Vader, is rarely the subject of side-project debate and forward looking meddlers-and this might be the wrong Pete to ask about that anyway. Forward-looking not to be confused with "forward-thinking" however and in that regard few can touch the Polish pragmatists and their five-pointed philosophies. "Wolftribe," and "Torch Of War" take the bows here with searing speed-riffing, razor smooth breaks to accentuate the blood wound… the rebel angel resurrected in a mighty riff of abominance, and "Revelation Of Black Moses," draw your own conclusions, at the end before the appearance of three bonus tracks including ""Reign Forever World." Grave-like in their intensity, Malevolent, "Deicidal" at every turn, they were there for the dawn of the dead, lest we remind ourselves when we point to the legendary purveyors of doom.

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