VADER — Black to the Blind (review)

VADER — Black to the Blind album cover Album · 1997 · Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Black to the Blind" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Polish death metal act Vader. The album was released through System Shock in October 1997. It´s the successor to "De profundis" from 1995 and features a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor but lead vocalist/guitarist Piotr Paweł Wiwczarek and drummer Krzysztof Raczkowski remain from the lineup who recorded "De profundis (1995)".

Stylistically the material on "Black to the Blind" pretty much continues in a similar US influenced death metal style as the material on "De profundis (1995)". There´s an occasional thrashy edge to the music, but that´s not unusual for this type of death metal. Wiwczarek has a throaty growling vocal style which sits somewhere between the growling vocals by David Vincent (Morbid Angel) and Glen Benton (Deicide). Musically those two artists are also valid references. "Black to the Blind" is a both energetic and brutal release, but Vader understand the importance of variation, and the tracks feature both heavy mid-paced sections, fast sections, and blasting sections.

The musicianship are on a high level on all posts, and especially Raczkowski deserves a mention for his powerful drumming style. He makes it sound so natural, organic, and easy, while playing some really fast beats and fills. So loads of praise from me to him. The album is packed with killer death metal riffs too, and some nice screaming guitar solos, and the vocals are commanding and well performed. On top of that "Black to the Blind" features a raw, brutal, and powerful sounding production job, which suits the material perfectly, so upon conclusion it´s through and through a high quality release.

I could have done without the Robb Flynn (Machine Head) influenced agro vocal part on "Carnal", but other than that short part of the album, "Black to the Blind" is quite the brilliant US influenced death metal album, and for fans of early 90s Morbid Angel and Deicide and to a lesser degree early 90s Sepultura, this should prove to be quite the treat. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.
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