Vader
Bio
These godfathers of extreme metal formed in 1983 in Olsztyn, Poland. Piotr Wiwczarek & friends were the first band from behind the Iron Curtain to be signed to a Western label, thanks to the success of their ‘Morbid Reich’ EP (1990).
Three years later their full debut ‘The Ultimate Incantation’ (1992) was a landmark release for European death metal. Formed as a speed/thrash outfit, their death metal leanings soon became more prominent and when the death metal scene lost steam in the mid-90s, Vader continued to tour tirelessly, clocking up 350 shows in three years’ time. Their work ethic paid off with their first headlining tour in the US in 1999. As the years wore on, Vader kept churning out classic death metal masterpieces such as ‘Necropolis’ (2009). The addition of Spider, Hal and James Stewart brought a new elan, which is obvious on ‘The Empire’ (2016) and their last long player to date, ‘Solitude in Madness’ (2020). Needless to say, extreme metal fans will highlight Vader on their festival schedule!
