UMUR
"Blood" is an EP release by Polish death metal act Vader. The EP was released through Metal Blade Records in September 2002 and is the follow-up release to the band´s fifth full-length studio album "Revelations" (June 2002, Metal Blade Records) and bridges the gap between that release and Vader´s sixth full-length studio album "The Beast" (September 2004, Metal Blade Records).
"Blood" features five new studio recordings (although "Son of Fire", "As the Fallen Rise Again", and "Traveler" had all already appeared as a bonus track on various limited editions of "Revelations"), "When Darkness Calls" from "Revelations", and a cover of Thin Lizzy´s "Angel of Death". The two latter have also previously been released as the "Angel of Death" single in April 2002.
Stylistically the new original compositions are a natural continuation of the death metal with brutal thrash metal leanings found on "Revelations" and this is definitely a nice follow-up release if you enjoyed that album. The only track which sticks out here is the cover of Thin Lizzy´s "Angel of Death", and it´s actually a pretty good choice for a cover song. It´s always nice to hear artists trying something which would normally be a bit out of their comfort zone, and to my ears Vader pull of giving the song their own heavy and brutal touch. Not completely unlike the success of Sepultura covering Motörhead´s "Orgasmatron".
"Blood" is a high quality EP release from Vader, and it´s probably one of the most consistent quality EP releases in their discography. The fact that they´ve managed to create such a great Thin Lizzy cover and make it a natural part of the EP is definitely not a negative either. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is well deserved.