There are very few bands that have managed to weave a web of mystery around them. Very few have survived and kept going strong until today. When faced with the question 'which' people tend to mention American death-mongers with the likes of MORBID ANGEL, DEICIDE or CANNIBAL CORPSE ... However, for a few years now in the same breath many have named VADER - perhaps the only band from Europe which has sustained its status for a number of years. Theirs is the cult of musical brutality and the urge to succeed. Few may remember that VADER were the first band ever from behind "the Iron Curtain" to sign to a Western label while their 1990 demo "Morbid Reich" is still considered to be the best selling demo tape in the history of death metal.
Now VADER are about to unleash "Reign Forever World" - their new offering and the second one to be recorded under the banner of Metal Blade. VADER formed in 1986. In 1993 they released their debut album titled "The Ultimate Incantation" (Earache) which has since become one of the milestones of European death metal. These were also the first brutal sounds from behind "the Iron Curtain" which reached the audiences all over the world. Promoting the album VADER introduced themselves to the Western world by undertaking a forty-date European tour with label mates BOLT THROWER and Swedish deathsters GRAVE. Another, thirty-plus, date tour with DEICIDE, SUFFOCATION, and DISMEMBER invaded American continent in May and June of the same year.
Communication breakdown with their label led to the termination of the contract with Earache and the 1994 release of two then-underestimated albums: "Sothis" (Repulse) and "The Darkest Age - Live '93" (Baron). The band also led a hectic live life touring with MALEVOLENT CREATION and OPPRESSOR to name just a few. Without a recording contract and with death metal losing popularity the world over, VADER continued to work hard against all odds. The 1995 contract with German System Shock/Impact Records allowed them to develop further. The success of three subsequent outings: "De Profundis" (1995), "Future of the Past" (1996), and "Black to the Blind" (1997) backed with super-intense shows activity (more than 350 concerts within 3 years!) slowly but surely contributed to the band's growing profile and increasingly enthusiastic press coverage.
VADER stopped being perceived as a mere curiosity from a former Communist country and became one of the leading European death metal bands. In the meantime, Hammerheart Records re-released two early demos - "Necrolust" (1989) and "Morbid Reich" (1990) - as "Reborn in Chaos". 1998 proved to be a breaking point for the band. In August VADER joined an exclusive circle of metal artists who recorded and released a "Live in Japan" (System Shock/Impact) album. Before it came out in December, the band also recorded a new mini "Kingdom" (System Shock/Impact) and their first professional VHS video titled "Vision and Voice" (Metal Mind). Also, in October this year VADER opened for SLAYER during their one-off stop in Poland. The end of 1998 marked the inking of the contract with one of the most respected and genre-defining metal labels in the world - Metal Blade.
In March 1999 VADER played their first headlining American tour - "International Extreme Music Festival '99" - which featured the line-up of GORGUTS, CRYPTOPSY, NILE, DIVINE EVE and several others. In May the band played at METALMANIA - the biggest Polish festival, with the likes of GRIP INC., SAMAEL and ANATHEMA. June marked yet another European trek with SIX FEET UNDER, ENSLAVED, CRYPTOPSY, THYRFING and NILE while the rest of the summer season was filled with numerous appearances at festivals in Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland and the season-concluding opening slot during the Polish leg of TESTAMENT's European tour.
In November and December 1999 the band disappeared in the Red Studio to record a brand new album titled "Litany" which is set for March 2000 release. The album comprises over 30 minutes of fast-paced and uncompromising death metal. T he band also recorded a video-clip to "Cold Demons" which along with the multimedia presentation will appear on a special-edition digipack. The release of the album will be once again backed with intense live activity, including April's "No Mercy Festivals 2000" with DEICIDE, IMMORTAL, MARDUK, and CANNIBAL CORPSE. Later, in June, VADER will embark on a 30-date European tour with VITAL REMAINS, FLESHCRAWL, and THE DROWN. Further plans include a Japanese tour and a summer trek in the USA and Canada.
