VADER needs no introductory preamble; they exist as part of the reason why Poland makes some of the best Death Metal in the world. 2014 sees the release for their 10^th album, "Tibi Et Igni". Along with release from bands such as ABORTED and SINISTER, VADER have set the standards for this year's throughput of death metal. Simply put, it may well be their best work to date; their last release, "Welcome to the Morbid Reich", already sitting on an impossibly high pedestal.

"Go to Hell" begins with... Can I call it an intro? A nearly-two-minute-long symphonic passage, a chillingly beautiful segment that would normally find its place on a DIMMU BORGIR album, was an uncanny choice to kick off this track, as it transitions jarringly into the kind of 9000 bpm Death Metal riffage that Polish Metallers are known for. "Triumph of Death" stands out as an oddity on this album, insofar as through its similarity to traditions of Heavy and Thrash. In its entirety, it is an outstanding arrangement, regardless of its simplicity to the remainder of the album, with an incredibly memorable chorus, that leaves the heavily-accented growls of founder Peter ringing in your pulverized ears; the track ramps up a crescendo before plummeting "to the grave".

"Hexenkessel" is a track that I sum up as one of the best extreme metal tracks I have heard this year; easily my favorite from the new album. It sees a comeback of the sweeping, introductory symphonic, but the syncopated, jaunting riff that is to follow was not nearly what I was expecting. Rhythmic dissonance seamlessly dissolves, the chaos reforming into order for a split second before disintegrating into a firestorm. The track is arranged in such a way to exude a different kind of heaviness; the literal loudness is there, as one could expect, but the chord progressions are what give it the infinite depth. A blood-curdling scream reaffirms this track as the best vocal performance on the album. "The End" stands stoic as a melancholic statement of poetic justice; all throughout an inescapable, unforgettable dirge, with the strategic arrangement contrasting, jarring riffs. It is not much of a wonder that VADER are one of the last bands to be labelled as "overrated", as may other big bands in the same field. "Tibi Et Igni" is but one of at least ten reasons why this is the case.