Vader are by no means a new band, now on album number ten its not an easy task to keep music such as their interesting. Much of the time I have found myself thinking that their music although fantastic, shows not much progression. A lot of the songs are similar almost blurring into one making it hard to differentiate between tracks. However Tibi Et Igni seems to have this very much in mind. With opening songs utilizing the usual Vader pattern of relentless drums mixed with fast paced riffing this is old school Vader, I’m talking from the days of Kingdom. We’re greeted with the usual grandiose intro in “Go To Hell” and straight into a classic Vader style riff, the same happens for the next couple of songs until we hit “Hexenkessel“.
Like most Vader songs we get a nice atmospheric intro with gongs from the abyss I’m sure, a memorable groovy driving riff is then gracefully moved into a fantastically written solo. Vader have so much more potential when writing like this, rather than the same old tired Slayer esque solo with dive bombs this is where they truly shine. Tibi Et Igni doesn’t stop there though we’re shown even more evidence of maturity in arguably the jewel in the crown that is “The Eye Of The Abyss” with an introduction that would make Dracula quiver in his boots and a lead line that would suit a march into the underworld, but what really changes the game with this album is the use of clever harmonies, creating tension and building to a crescendo with well placed, well thought out riffs. Too many times I feel Vader have settled for something less, that being said all of their albums are brilliant but a lot of them have very indistinguishable songs, save for the lead singles.
Another thing that is a lot more prominent on their latest offering is just plain and simple melody. With the final song “The End” we’re shown that although Vader are the uncrowned kings of death metal that a lot of their influence lies in classic heavy metal. With Peter our undead war general sounding better than ever before the slow paced song demonstrates that what Vader seem to have mastered here are the elements that sometimes less is more, there is less straight up in your face riffing and more thought out well written tracks. Don’t get me wrong the straight up songs are still there but they’ve become tired and the new sound of a more modern Vader truly is a breath of fresh air for both the band and the fans.
As Peter says “This is Not the end, not the end, now…”
