Review Summary: An album by a band truly in need of reinvention, 'Necropolis' finds a lost-at-sea band attempting to rehash a well-worn sound. Avoid this in favor of their better works such as 'Litany.'
After a lengthy period of biannual releases, Vader decided to take an extra year to produce the follow-up to their 2006 album 'Impressions In Blood,' perhaps realizing that their formula was - to many - becoming stale. That mixture of rapid tremolo picked riffs backed with blast beats and mid-paced crunch punctuated by pinched harmonics that had served so well on 'Litany,' was rapidly becoming a little too repetetive, despite 'Impressions In Blood' actually standing out as one of the band's stronger releases. Come 2009, and the band unleashed 'Necropolis,' and many fans of the band were doubtless curious to see what had changed in this time frame. Sadly, the answer is: "very little."
"Devilized" opens the album, and the first couple of riffs leave a strong impression. This is a song that has a nice tempo to it that settles somewhere in the middle of their slower material and the breakneck tempo that defines the band, with riffs that feel reminiscent of "Sothis." Sadly, when the verses are introduced, it becomes apparent that the band is simply re-treading old ground once more. Some of Piotr's vocals remain as catchy as ever ("I smell your excitement," leading into a typically tasteless solo), and the riffs themselves are inoffensive, but this is a song that can only be described as boring. "Rise Of The Undead" continues that sense of "been here before," with its introductory riff feeling copy-pasted from every single album released by the band prior to this, and whilst the chorus has a vocal hook that helps distinguish it from the rest, this is another sleep-inducing track.
Stagnancy had well and truly set into the band's sound by the time of 'Necropolis,' and it is evident when listening to this selection of songs that the band needed to return to the drawing board in future. Two interludes are featured here, alongside two covers from bands that influenced Vader (Venom and Metallica), and whilst it is pleasant to see the band attempt something a little different, it is too little to salvage anything from this worn-out shell of an album. "Blast" is decidedly not atmospheric, and "Summoning The Futura" has some spoken words from Piotr that sound completely corny. The song that follows this latter interlude, "Anger," is one that rehashes the same fast template, with an insipid chorus that I assume the band wanted fans to chant along to.
Nothing much can be said about 'Necropolis' that doesn't apply to the majority of other Vader albums, but by this point the band really were sounding tired and without passion. This is a by-the-numbers old-school death metal album, that will surely please die-hard fans of the band, but will not win over newcomers or those only initiated into a few of the band's choice cuts. Whilst it's not their worst album, it's definitely one recommended to stay away from.
