Search - Vader :: Litany

The sound and the fury

Kevin W. Connerty | 01/18/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Short of Vaders newest release (impressions in blood) this is Vaders most aggressive disc. There isn't a track on here that won't make you want to drive on the sidewalk. Plenty of anger...plenty of blasting...plenty of straight up nasty thrashing from the Polish death pedallers. My only beef with this disc...and even a few other Vader discs...is the mix of the drums. The drums are just a bit overpowering in the mix and a little too digital sounding. Past that this is good, furious death metal."

This thing slays

A. Stutheit | Denver, CO USA | 09/17/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After taking an unusually long three years off after the release of 1997's "Black to the Blind," Vader, who are one of Poland's top two exports (the other being Behemoth), blasted back onto the scene with an even angrier and heavier sound than ever heard before. That's right, folks, 2000's "Litany" is Vader's heaviest album to date.



With a running time clocking in at just over thirty minutes, this is a very short, concise, and compact affair. In fact, if anything hinders "Litany," it's that it's all over a bit too quickly. But on the plus side, the album doesn't have trouble holding your attention for its duration because these eleven songs never lose their focus or drift into bloated or overlong mini-epic territory.



Vader's musicianship here is, as always, airtight. Peter belts his deep yet still mostly intelligible vocals over a thunderous and uncompromising maelstrom of Slayer-inspired riffs, scorching leads, occasional solos, and impeccable, pummeling blast beats ("Doc" Raczkowski contributes some of his all-time fastest, most technical, and all-around best drumming to this record.)



The onslaught begins with the classic Vader pound of "Wings," and continues through the jackhammering, Terrorizer-esque blasting of "The One Made Of Dreams" before the listener is allowed to catch a breath. Track three, "Xeper," is a much more laid-back piece with great, crunching riffs, catchy, galloping beat, and memorable spoken-word chorus. Similarly, the title track and "The Calling" also begin with restrained tempos (before gradually working up a lot of speed and momentum.) However, on the flip side, the breakneck "Cold Demons," "North" (which is as relentless as a hailstorm of grenades), and "A World Of Hurt" (which is a skull-crushing, grindcore-worthy sneak attack that's less than two minutes long), are all bludgeoning, pedal-to-the-metal speedsters from beginning to end. Elsewhere, "Forwards To Die!!!" and "The World Made Of Flesh" are two scorching riff monsters (the latter is also of note for its fairly ripping guitar solo); and the set closer, "The Final Massacre," boasts more excellent riffs and drumming, as well as some well-placed tempo shifts and a couple of blazing, careening solos.



It could stand to have another song or two, but all in all, "Litany" is yet another Grade A slab of satisfying, terrifically brutal, and technically flawless death metal from a band that seems incapable of making anything else. Recommended."

Unbelievably heavy!

Metalblond | Boston, MA | 03/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You know the warnings they give you about drugs?? Eventually you need more and more and then harder and harder to give you that high again?? Well that's how it is with my metal... as time goes on I need my metal to get harder and more extreme to satisfy me. This CD is for the die-hard metal addict needing the super heavy duty stuff--it's hard as hell and right from the first track "Wings" it's like being thrown against a wall. The drums are hit harder than David Ortiz hits a baseball-- wow.... HIGHLY recommended!"