UMUR "Blood" is an EP release by Polish death metal act Vader. The EP was released through Metal Blade Records in September 2002 and is the follow-up release to the band´s fifth full-length studio album "Revelations" (June 2002, Metal Blade Records) and bridges the gap between that release and Vader´s sixth full-length studio album "The Beast" (September 2004, Metal Blade Records).

"Blood" features five new studio recordings (although "Son of Fire", "As the Fallen Rise Again", and "Traveler" had all already appeared as a bonus track on various limited editions of "Revelations"), "When Darkness Calls" from "Revelations", and a cover of Thin Lizzy´s "Angel of Death". The two latter have also previously been released as the "Angel of Death" single in April 2002.

Stylistically the new original compositions are a natural continuation of the death metal with brutal thrash metal leanings found on "Revelations" and this is definitely a nice follow-up release if you enjoyed that album. The only track which sticks out here is the cover of Thin Lizzy´s "Angel of Death", and it´s actually a pretty good choice for a cover song. It´s always nice to hear artists trying something which would normally be a bit out of their comfort zone, and to my ears Vader pull of giving the song their own heavy and brutal touch. Not completely unlike the success of Sepultura covering Motörhead´s "Orgasmatron".

"Blood" is a high quality EP release from Vader, and it´s probably one of the most consistent quality EP releases in their discography. The fact that they´ve managed to create such a great Thin Lizzy cover and make it a natural part of the EP is definitely not a negative either. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is well deserved.

UMUR "Reign Forever World" is an EP release by Polish death metal act Vader. The EP was released through the Japanese Avalon label in April 2001 and it features three new original tracks and three covers recorded in August 2000. In addition to the studio tracks the EP also features four live tracks, making this a ten track, 32:20 minutes long EP release.

"Reign Forever World", "Frozen Paths", and "Privilege of the Gods" are all high quality death metal tracks by Vader and not surprisingly sound very much like the material on the album releases bookending "Reign Forever World". So it´s basically more of the same death metal with heavy thrash metal leanings that you can also find on "Litany" (March 2000, Metal Blade Records) and "Revelations" (June 2002, Metal Blade Records).

The covers are "Total Desaster" by Destruction, "Rapid Fire" by Judas Priest, and "Freezing Moon" by Mayhem. The covers are decent, but nothing more. The Judas Priest cover is arguably the most interesting, simply because the music style differs quite a bit from Vader´s usual sound, but the Mayhem cover is actually pretty decent too. The live recordings feature a professional sound quality and they are well performed.

So upon conclusion "Reign Forever World" is a good quality EP release by Vader, where you get both good quality and plenty of quantity to warrant a purchase. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Kingdom" is an EP release by Polish death metal act Vader. The EP was released through Pavement Music Records in November 1998. It´s the follow-up release to Vader´s third full-length studio album "Black to the Blind" (October 1997, System Shock) and bridges the gab between that release and the band´s fourth full-length studio album "Litany" (March 2000, Metal Blade Records).

The EP features six audio tracks and one video track. The latter is a video for "Incarnation". "Creatures of Light and Darkness", "Kingdom", and "Anamnesis" are exclusive to this release, while "Breath of Centuries" is a re-recording of the same track which was originally featured on Vader´s November 1990 "Morbid Reich" demo. The EP closes with two electronic music mixes titled "Inhuman Disaster Mix" and "Quicksilver Blood Mix".

Stylistically the new original compositions pretty much sound like you´d expect them to...a continuation of the sound on "Black to the Blind" (also with the slight nod towards groove/alternative metal which was very briefly touched on the album). The re-recorded "Breath of Centuries" is an absolute blast of a track. Such power and conviction. The "Incarnation" track and video are great (although it´s just a live video with studio sound, It´s still nice to see the band headbang like ferals). The two electronic tracks...they aren´t really that great. Still there is enough quality here to warrant a 3.5 star (70%) rating.

UMUR "Future of the Past" is a compilation release by Polish death metal act Vader. The compilation was released through Koch Records in December 1996 and exclusively features cover material recorded at four different sessions between March 1994 and September 1996. The first seven tracks on the compilation were recorded in one session in September 1996 and two tracks were recorded in May 1996 and the listener could conclude from the recording history that it would indicate that these tracks were recorded with a planned cover album in mind, but "I.F.Y. (I Feel You)" (Depeche Mode cover) and "Black Sabbath" (Black Sabbath cover) are culled from previous EP/single releases.

Not surprisingly "Future of the Past" features covers of songs by Sodom, Kreator, Terrorizer, Possessed, Slayer, Dark Angel, and Celtic Frost, as those artists have always been among the band´s primary influences, but the Anti-Nowhere League cover and the Depeche Mode covers are a bit more daring and unusual. Honestly it´s also the two most interesting cover songs on the album, as they show another side of Vader. None of them are particularly great (although I enjoy the goth take and clean vocals on the Depeche Mode track), but at least they show guts and the will to try something out of the ordinary. Listening to another extreme metal band (Vader or any other act) cover Possessed or Celtic Frost just isn´t that interesting, although Vader do a decent job covering the songs. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Sothis" is an EP release by Polish death metal act Vader. The EP was released through Baron Records in March 1994. It bridges the gab between Vader´s debut- and sophomore full-length studio albums "The Ultimate Incantation" (November 1992, Earache Records) and "De Profundis" (July 1995, Croon Records). The latter was recorded by the same four-piece lineup who recorded the material featured on "Sothis".

Although the tracks "Sothis" and "Vision and the Voice" would both subsequently appear on "De Profundis", these EP versions are different to the versions found on the album. They were recorded in early 1994, while the material featured on "De Profundis" was recorded in May 1995. "The Wrath" is a re-recording of the track from the 1989 "Necrolust" demo. The other tracks on the 6 track, 23:45 minutes long album were at the time of release exclusive to the EP (including the cover of "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath). Three of them are short intros/interludes though, so in reality there isn´t that much new original material here if you already own "De Profundis".

Stylistically these tracks not surprisingly sounds like the natural link between the two studio albums which bookend it. The thrash infused death metal of "The Ultimate Incantation" and the more death metal oriented sound of "De Profundis" are found here in sweet harmony. It´s actually mostly in the sound production department that "Sothis" sounds more like "The Ultimate Incantation" than "De Profundis", because the shared material between "Sothis" and "De Profundis" of course makes the EP lean more towards the sound of the sophomore studio album.

The early demo recordings by Vader were always great releases, and it´s therefore nice to have the opportunity to hear "The Wrath" here in a professional studio version. The cover of "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath isn´t the most interesting choice for a cover song, but I´d say Vader gives the track enough of their own spin to justify doing the cover. Piotr Paweł Wiwczarek even mixes his semi-growling/shouting vocals with clean singing and the guitar tone alone reveals that it´s Vader playing. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.