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Poland’s premiere death metal masters are back, offering their vision of the apocalypse to come. Appropriately titled, Revelations is a superb example of a band keeping the genre fresh while not straying too far from it’s thudding, blast-beat ridden roots. Vader has crafted nine songs that are true to the band’s longstanding name, but also manage to keep the listener interested rather than hearing the same songs blasted into their brains over and over again. Unlike the material on the band’s previous full-length release Litany, each track has something worth listening for.

The solo-crazy Epitaph kicks things off and will smash any unbelievers into the realization that Vader is still relevant to the scene and is not about to allow themselves to vanish into obscurity. Some tracks, such as Wolftribe and Lukewarm Race, stick to the typical formula but you will be amazed by the amount of variety in the slowdowns and riffs featured on this record. The Code is probably the kind of song you’d never expect to hear from this band; blazing with a catchy thrash riff melded with Peter’s demonic rasps and echoing guitar solos this song is quite an experience to hear coming from Vader. A big highlight here is Whisper, an unrelenting and sinister track laden with slowdowns and a guest appearance by Nergal from Behemoth, adding his uniquely ferocious voice over the explosive drumming. The final track is a slow-paced pummeling named Revelation of Black Moses, which again expresses Vader’s experimental take on this album, but ultimately comes up a little short due to its lengthiness.

Revelations also features three bonus songs (previously found on the Reign Forever World E.P.) and some of the coolest cover art you’ll ever see.

The album is iffy in its top 10 potential for the year, but it is definitely a step in the right direction for Vader.