VADER — The Ultimate Incantation (review)

VADER — The Ultimate Incantation album cover

Album · 1992 · Death Metal

3.5/5 · 2020-04-20
siLLy puPPy

VADER has been one of Poland’s greatest metal exports with its multi-decade attack of excellent death metal albums since this debut release THE ULTIMATE INCANTATION hit the scene in 1992. This band from Olsztyn actually formed as far back as 1983 which is the same year as Death and Possessed but doesn’t receive the plaudits as a death metal pioneer due to the fact that at that early stage the band which as been led by Piotr Wiwczarek since its inception began as a heavy metal band but throughout the 80s evolved into a speed metal band, then thrash metal and didn’t go full-on death metal until it released its first demo “Live In Decay” in 1986. It would take the band nine full years to go from formation to this debut album and would go through many lineup changes but certainly didn’t waste any time developing the sounds of fully fueled old school death metal.

THE ULTIMATE INCANTATION proved to be quite the project as it was originally recorded at the famous Sunlight Studios in Stockholm, Sweden but neither the band or record label Earache were pleased and the whole thing was scrapped and re-recorded at Rhythm Studios in England with a new producer. Another strange thing about THE ULTIMATE INCANTATION is that two musicians: bassist Jacek Kalisz and guitarist Jarslaw Labieniec were credited on the album but didn’t actually perform so the band on this recording is really just Wiwczarek on guitars, bass and vocals along with Krysztof Raczkowski on drums. Despite all the fussing around trying to get the perfect album, THE ULTIMATE INCANTATION nevertheless still suffered from a substandard production that keeps the album from reaching its full potential, however on the musical side of the equation, this one is a ferocious beast!

By 1992 many death metal bands were splintering off into myriad directions. Incantation was adding elements of doom metal to its sound. Death and Atrocity were becoming more progressive and a few bands like Pan.Thy.Monium were going avant-garde, however there were a few bands in this era that were more rooted in death metal’s thrash origins. Along with bands like Deicide, Bolt Thrower and Demigod, VADER was all about keeping things pure with all those rampaging guitar riffs at high speed tempos, palm muting techniques, distortion overload and labyrinthine compositions. Add to that the double bass drum and death growls and VADER nailed the classic old school death metal sound and would quickly arise from the underground to become one of the most successful extreme metal bands to emerge from Poland.

While VADER hadn’t crafted anything groundbreaking with THE ULTIMATE INCANTATION, the album is nonetheless quite a satisfying listen as the compositions are all steeped in everything that made old school death metal so fucking cool. The riffs are on steroids but laced with that 80s thrash metal mojo along with those squealing guitar antics that were a staple of bands like Slayer and then Morbid Angel. Despite the album having a classic 1989 sound still delivers all the death metal goods in abundance with extra kudos to the phenomenal drumming prowess of Raczkowski who displays perfectly why an excellent death metal album absolutely requires a primo drum abuser. While not exactly technically adept, THE ULTIMATE INCANTATION makes up for it with an obsessive fury and indelible hunger to reach the big boy’s club. Overall this debut by VADER may not be the band’s best but is very much a satisfying period piece marred only by the weak production.

more than 2 years ago
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UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I think it´s a decent strongly Slayer influenced death/thrash metal release, but I never thought it was anything special. Loads of other contemporary releases and artists in this style I´d pick over this one.

Vim Fuego wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Love this album. Funny that they complained about the production though. The demo for Vicious Circle was one of the standout tracks on the Monsters of Death compilation, and sounded even weirder, but that was a big part of it's charm.