Company: Nuclear Blast Release: 2014 Genre: Death Reviewer: Eric Compton
Mammoth blocks of tenacious grooves
With over thirty years in the business and eleven albums on their resume, one would argue that the antagonist for Poland's marquee act is repetition. How does a band with this much experience and product avoid declension? Do they become complacent and negligent or does Vader continue to push for innovation and change as they write another tome to their legacy? I think "Tibi Et Igni" answers that question in a profound way. While it certainly doesn't digress from the clear rules and regulations established by the genre, the band still strives to convey new elements and logic to their sound. "Triumph of Death" is arguably one of the best tracks of the band's catalog, the infectious thrash riffing carousing into a rare anthem-like chorus that allows Peter a close proximity to clean singing. The same can be said for the prophetic "The End", an accessible song that is permeated with an appreciable amount of melody. The spoken word passages lead into a raucous mid-tempo charge that seemingly breathes new life into the group's signature sound. The keyboards enveloping "Hexenkessel" and "The Eye of the Abyss" provide a bit of atmosphere on the road to perdition. With touches of melody and mammoth blocks of tenacious grooves, "Tibi Et Igni" reminds us that Vader are still the epitome of extreme thrash.
