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"The more things change, the more they stay the same." That saying can be very easily applied whenever there is a new Vader album. Necropolis is the band's newest effort and it does not vary from the formula they have employed over the past 20 years.

Before I continue, there is one thing that you must know; while I have a couple of their better known albums and EPs, I am not a big time Vader fan. I respect and appreciate them but I won't go nuts for an album just because it has the name Vader attached to it. Now that I got that out of the way, let me tell you what I think about Necropolis.

This album is essentially a Piotr Wiwczarek show as it features only two members, him and drummer Pawe Jaroszewicz. As far as the record goes, this is undoubtedly pure Vader: short, fast and aggressive, trying their best to be Slayer on steroids. Starting with "Devilizer" they kick your ass for most of the album. From there they really don't stop except for a couple of spots here and there. The musicianship is good enough with Wiwczarek providing maniacal guitar work and Jaroszewicz with his machine-like blast beats.

But as always there are some negatives that come with a Vader album, like the pointless interludes and the big space wasters in "The Seal" and "When the Sun Drowns in the Dark". Also the bass is so buried in the mix that you have to wonder if there ever was such a thing in the first place. The songwriting is the same, solid but predictable, you won't hear anything different, after all this is Vader here. Bottom line, if you are a fan this is an obvious must buy. For me however, there are better Death Metal albums out there and by skipping this, I would not be missing anything.