UMUR
"Sothis" is an EP release by Polish death metal act Vader. The EP was released through Baron Records in March 1994. It bridges the gab between Vader´s debut- and sophomore full-length studio albums "The Ultimate Incantation" (November 1992, Earache Records) and "De Profundis" (July 1995, Croon Records). The latter was recorded by the same four-piece lineup who recorded the material featured on "Sothis".
Although the tracks "Sothis" and "Vision and the Voice" would both subsequently appear on "De Profundis", these EP versions are different to the versions found on the album. They were recorded in early 1994, while the material featured on "De Profundis" was recorded in May 1995. "The Wrath" is a re-recording of the track from the 1989 "Necrolust" demo. The other tracks on the 6 track, 23:45 minutes long album were at the time of release exclusive to the EP (including the cover of "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath). Three of them are short intros/interludes though, so in reality there isn´t that much new original material here if you already own "De Profundis".
Stylistically these tracks not surprisingly sounds like the natural link between the two studio albums which bookend it. The thrash infused death metal of "The Ultimate Incantation" and the more death metal oriented sound of "De Profundis" are found here in sweet harmony. It´s actually mostly in the sound production department that "Sothis" sounds more like "The Ultimate Incantation" than "De Profundis", because the shared material between "Sothis" and "De Profundis" of course makes the EP lean more towards the sound of the sophomore studio album.
The early demo recordings by Vader were always great releases, and it´s therefore nice to have the opportunity to hear "The Wrath" here in a professional studio version. The cover of "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath isn´t the most interesting choice for a cover song, but I´d say Vader gives the track enough of their own spin to justify doing the cover. Piotr Paweł Wiwczarek even mixes his semi-growling/shouting vocals with clean singing and the guitar tone alone reveals that it´s Vader playing. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.