Description
Limited triple disc edition with 3 bonus tracks
In Roman numerals, XXV means 25 — and Vader has described this 2008 release as a celebration of their 25th anniversary. 1986 has frequently been cited as the year of Vader’s formation, which would mean that 2008 marked their 22nd anniversary instead of their 25th; however, 1983 has also been cited as the year that Vader’s earliest lineup came about. But whether 1983 or 1986 is correct, there is no question that Vader has a long history, and this two-CD set (recorded in 2007 and 2008) finds the Polish outfit revisiting more than 25 songs from the past. Although long-time Vader fans will recognize many of the song titles, XXV is neither an anthology nor a best-of; rather, it is an album of re-recordings of material that Vader previously recorded in the 1990s or early to mid-2000s. Some of Vader’s early recordings were low-budget affairs that suffered from dodgy production, but the production on XXV — sharp, clean, heavy and thick — brings audiophile-like quality to some songs that were previously recorded with demo-like quality. Some hardcore Vader devotees will no doubt insist that they like the rawness and less-than-professional sound of those early recordings, which do — to be sure — have a certain primitive, garage-like charm. However, there is also something to be said for the increased heaviness that better production gives the older tunes that Vader recreates. That said, someone who is new to Vader is probably better off hearing the original versions despite their imperfections; those recordings, after all, are part of Vader’s history. But XXV (which offers liner notes in both English and Polish) is a well executed effort that long-time admirers will find to be both enjoyable and intriguing. The track ‘Wyrocznia’ features a guest appearance by Kat vocalist Roman Kostrzewski and Seth from Severe Torture on ‘Blood Of Kingu’.
Track list:
Disc 1
1. InVaders-intro
2. Chaos
3. Vicious Circle
4. Crucified Ones
5. Dark Age
6. Reign-Carrion
7. Silent Empire
8. Sothis
9. Incarnation
10. Reborn in Flames
11. Blood Of Kingu
12. Carnal
13. Fractal Light
14. Red Passage
15. Black To The Blind
16. Kingdom
17. Wings
18. Xeper
19. Cold Demons
20. Final Massacre
21. Reign Forever World
22. Epitaph
23. Dark Transmission
24. Fear Of Napalm
25. Wyrocznia-Kat cover
26. Tyrani Piekie
27. Trupi Jad-Polish version
28. Reborn In Flames-special version
29. Dark(er) Transmission(er)-Hertz version
Dvd track list:
1. Gin Psie-Olsztyn 1986
2. Trupi Jad-Bialystok 1989
3. Vicious Circle-Moscow 1990
4. Demons Wind/Decapitated Saints-Bialystok 1992
5. Intro/Dark Age-Piekary Sl 1992
6. Breath Of Centuries-Warszawa 1992
7. Chaos-Groningen 1993
8. Decapitated Saints-Brooklyn 1993
9. Reign-Carrion-Lodz 1993
10. Blood Of Kingu-Torino 1995
11. Crucified Ones-Sopot 1995
12. Testimony-Hamburg 1996
13. Black To The Blind/Silent Empire-Madrid 1998
14. Distant Dream-Stolzenhain 1998
15. Forwards To Die/North-Houston 2000
16. Sothis-Essen 2001