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/:: Artist :: Vader ::\
:: Album :: The Empire ::
:: Year :: 2024 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Death Metal Source :: CD . ::
:: Label :: Shinigami Records R.date :: 2025-05-17 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: NBSR368 S.date :: 2024-00-00 __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 276kbps :..
. Quality :: 44.1 kHz/Joint Stereo .
. Size :: 97.34 MB .
. .
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 1. Angels of Steel 2:16 ::
:: 2. Tempest 2:41 ::
:: 3. Prayer to the God of War 2:47 ::
:: 4. Iron Reign 4:37 ::
:: 5. No Gravity 4:08 ::
:: 6. Genocidius 2:59 ::
:: 7. The Army-Geddon 4:10 ::
:: 8. Feel My Pain 3:24 ::
:: 9. Parabellum 2:28 ::
:: 10. Send Me Back to Hell 3:32 ::
:: 11. Parabellum 2:28 ::
:: 12. Prayer to the God of War 2:47 ::
:: 13. Piesc i Stal 4:05 ::
:: 14. Overkill 4:18 ::
:: ::
:: ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 46:40 ..
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: Reissue of the Empire album with EP "Iron Times" as a bonus. ::
:: ::
:: ::
:: Still leading the genre to the fullest, Polish death/thrash ::
:: legends Vader has been leading their genreÆs charge for the ::
:: better part of their near forty-year existence by churning out ::
:: some of the most consistent and explosively enjoyable work ::
:: around. Never one to take a rest following a slew of releases, ::
:: compilations and even an EP earlier in the year, the groupsÆ ::
:: tenth true full-length of original music was released November ::
:: 4, 2016 on Nuclear Blast. ::
:: ::
:: From the onset of their career the band has delved between two ::
:: distinct styles in their music, and for the most part whatÆs ::
:: featured here is the less-prominent aspect of their sound. The ::
:: vast majority of the tracks here are all about the tight, ::
:: churning thrash style rhythms of their sound, flying through ::
:: furious non-stop riff-work and utterly pummeling energy that ::
:: goes for the intensity and anger side of their sound rather ::
:: than opt for the sprawling mid-tempo gallops. Rather, the music ::
:: here is tight, short and to-the-point in itÆs charging ::
:: intensity, relying on the groupsÆ penchant for twisting through ::
:: varying rhythms for its variety here that gives this a mostly ::
:: thrash-based assault than most other offerings in their ::
:: history. As this ends up being the dominant factor for the ::
:: music here, it leaves a profound display of aggression and ::
:: energy here by going through these dynamic paces and really ::
:: drowns out the epic aspects of their sound here. These efforts ::
:: are placed more on the sidelines of the album in favor of the ::
:: tight, vicious thrashing on display which is where this one ::
:: really suffers slightly with the slower, sprawling efforts ::
:: taken out for these shorter bursts of thrash that it makes the ::
:: album feel much too brief as the running time is noticeable ::
:: with the short, blistering intensity featured here being just ::
:: too obvious with the vast majority of the album being under ::
:: three minutes so when it goes beyond itÆs all the more obvious. ::
:: Still, that alone is all thatÆs wrong here which isnÆt really ::
:: all that detrimental at all. ::
:: ::
:: With the only real problem here being quite a laughable flaw ::
:: thatÆs really the epitome of grasping at straws, that factor ::
:: should be expected from a band this consistent and enjoyable as ::
:: this vicious, furious slab of thrashing-tinged death metal will ::
:: go down a storm with fans of their past work, death/thrash in ::
:: general or those curious about the bandsÆ longevity and need a ::
:: fine entry point into their catalog. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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