DIES IRAE - "IMMOLATED" (METAL BLADE)
Metal Blade recently signed Polish death metal band Dies Irae, and when you realise that this band is 50% Vader, it's not difficult to see why. Who we see here are Mauser (Vader guitars) and Doc (Vader drums - yeah!) flanked by Novy on vocals/bass and Hiro on guitars.
It will not surprise you, especially after learning that all music was written by Mauser and Doc, that the band sounds very much like Vader. In fact, it's the production that makes the most difference. Whereas Vader's "Litany" in particular had an extremely drum-heavy production, "Immolated" sounds a little bit more civilized. Not a lot, mind :-)
Vocal-wise, Dies Irae sounds darker. As a whole, the band also sounds more atmospheric. "Sirius", in particular, is an excellent song introduced by an especially atmospheric intro.
However, it's not really fair to judge Dies Irae only by drawing comparisons with Vader. They are a fine band in their own right, and "Immolated" is one of the finer death metal albums released this year. Unfortunately it's got one other thing in common with an album like Vader's "Litany": It's too short (32 minutes this time).
RK
Written October 2000