Review Summary: Yet another solid release by the Polish band.
Vader is probably most famous for pounding out their strong combination of blazing riffs and high speed drumming along with touches of atmosphere, for a very long time, without much change, other than the slightly groove influenced works of late. However, the Polish band's approach is not to say somewhat tiring, considering the similarity of these albums; luckily,
Welcome To The Morbid Reich is a strong effort that is different enough to keep you on your feet. With top notch drumming and guitar playing, as well as the more prominent atmosphere approach adopted, this album is a rare stand out for the band.
The first thing I thought when I saw this album was "That's one hell of an album cover". Indeed, this appears to be one of Vader's most expansive works, and the return of the old Vader logo certainly is shown somewhat in the music, because this is by far the bands best work since
Litany, and maybe even
De Profundis. Indeed, the production is a little less polished than Impressions In Blood and Necropolis, and has less of a Groove metal influence than the latter.
The album is pretty well summarized by the two types of song used in it. The more prominent and memorable tracks such as
Return To The Morbid Reich feature atmospheric elements and more varied paces, as well as more memorable guitar solos. The aforementioned opener is a good example, but generally album centerpiece
I Am Who Feasts Upon Your Soul is the most memorable example of this song type, with the most prominent atmospherics and one of the albums catchiest riffs, and by far the most melodic solo on the album, along with some solid guitar and drum interplay. Other standouts of this type include
Come And See My Sacrifice, with its varied pace, frequent guitar solos, and atmospheric elements, and
Don't Rip The Beast's Heart Out, with a more aggressive approach.
The other notable song type is frequent and more powerful. There are plenty of shorter and faster numbers here, with
Decapitated Saints and
Only Hell Knows featuring fast riffs and strong blast beats, along with more aggressive vocals (although the former suffers somewhat in the vocal department) from vocalist/guitarist Piotr Wiwczarek.
Really the only weakness here is the same as always. For all it's differences, this really isn't straying from the same formula the band's used since their debut. This presents the usual problems from each album, and if you were tired of Vader already, then I wouldn't buy this. However, if you are looking for a solid death metal album from a veteran band, here's where to look.
Recommended tracks:
Come And See My Sacrifice
I Am Who Feasts Upon Your Soul
Only Hell Knows
