Vader - Black To The Blind (Pavement, '98)

Rating: 10/10
Tracks: Heading for Eternal Darkness, The Innermost Ambience, Carnal, Fractal Light, True Names, Beast Raping, Foetus God, The Red Passage, Distant Dream, Black to the Blind

Vader's Black To The Blind is a tour de force of great death metal (actually I'd like to call them "power death metal"). Vader has been able to fuse the crushing, non-stopping destruction that is death metal with the amazingly catchy song writing and power riffs of power metal without losing any of the heaviness. The first time I heard Black To The Blind I was hooked and I've loved it ever since.

Unlike Deicide, who tend to throw in clean metal riffs just to break up the flow of the non-stop destruction (I do love Deicide though), Vader is able to weave the power metal riffs into their songs so that they completely combine with the death metal power and make the song even stronger. I am going to see them live on Saturday and I really hope they are able to blow me away live like they have blown me away so far.

Vader isn't as heavy as Morbid Angel or Deicide, but they have their own brand of heaviness that kill just as hard. The drumming of Doc is quite blistering, and Peter's voice (by the way, Peter is the only one in the band that speaks any English) has a certain Morbid Angel-ish feel to it, but he certainly retains his own style. Their best attributes are their creative song writing and their musicianship, which are both as good as it gets.

My favorite songs on the album are "The Innermost Ambience" and "Carnal". Both of these songs are blisteringly fast with drumming that will throw you against the fucking wall. "Carnal" is one of the heaviest songs I've heard in a long time. Can you tell I love this band?

Vader is a bright light for death metal. To me, most death metal bands coming out really sound a lot alike. Bands like Vader, Nile, and Malamor are really starting to break up the monotony by introducing new ideas and creating complex landscapes of music. I hope that every extreme music fans give these guys a listen and hopefully love them as much as I do. We need to support bands like Vader that are willing to go to extremes and leave no prisoners!!! After listening to Black To The Blind all I can say is LONG LIVE VADER!!! VADER, VADER, VADER!!!!! - Piston Rod

Master - Faith Is In Season (Pavement, '98)

Rating: 8/10
Tracks: Follow Jesus, Cast The First Stone, Addicted To The Pistol, Imprisoned, Re-Terrorizer, We're About To Fall, Believers Have A Choice, Faith Is Still In Season, Broken Promise, Where Are You Now?, Butchered By Numbers, Antidote, Spiritual Bankruptcy, Victims Of Jesus, Return To Vietnam, Previously Committed

Master's Faith Is In Season is a dark and angry album by a group of guys that really know their craft. Master have been around for a while, but are only now starting to make their mark. Most of the songs on this album are about the hypocrisy of following Jesus blindly. That's something I can get behind. They also sing about sex and the abuse of sex ("Addicted To The Pistol"), and mass destruction ("Re-Terrorizer"). I must say I like this album and the band as a whole. There not as fast as say a Deicide or Morbid Angel, and they aren't as catchy as Vader, but they do have some real hate and anger in their blood and that I like.

The lead vocalist, Paul Speckmann, has a deep growly voice. Very strong. The drummer is kinda boring though. I must say that with the crop of very interesting and innovative death metal drummers that have populated the genre of late, Sage Johnson really pales in comparison. He comes off sounding like a two year old pounding on his brother's drum set. The two guitar payers do a very good job of ax duty... both very proficient of producing very interesting riffs and creating a good soundscape for Paul to growl over.

Master have not broken any boundaries or set any trends with Faith Is In Season, but they have created a very proficient and angry album. Check these guys out if you need something new to carry you through your day. Master get a little boring after repeated listening, and I don't really feel like grabbing the album out of my rack too often, but that's just me, you might think it's wonderful, and either way it's worth the look. - Piston Rod