This third album takes that line of thought to its logical conclusion, and most of the songs (less than half) don’t reach the three minutes mark. That Vader perfected its craft was already amply proven with “De Profundis”. Vader is still Vader here, a bit slower maybe, but still the same. It is a minor stylistic deviation that is notable, but hardly one that is problematic as the songwriting remains intact despite the small cosmetic changes. Compared to the preceding albums the tempo is a bit lower than you’d expect, and there are a few clean sung sections here and there. The interplay between Wiwczarek’s leads/solos and Doc’s drumming is the beating heart of this band’s repertoire, and “Black To the Blind” is no different. His limb control is amazing with excellent fills, thrash beats, cymbal crashes and exciting footwork. Doc had his personal problems (mostly alcohol/substance abuse), but in the studio he was a pro. This can clearly be heard in the earlier mentioned ‘Carnal’ which, despite being little over two minutes, manages to combine his different styles and techniques into a manageable format. This can be heard by the awe-inspiring performance of Krzysztof ‘Doc’ Raczkowski, who proves here why he was one of the most revered drummers of 90s death metal. “Black To the Blind” is more about controlled aggression than anything. Vader falls into the latter category with this release as it amplifies the writing strengths of its creative core duo while shedding all other unnecessary baggage for something altogether more poignant and direct. A dry production can either stifle a band in the worst manner (see: Metallica’s “…And Justice For All”) or make them sound that much massive (see: Gorefest’s “Erase”). Notable is that the production robs the thick bass guitar of much of its power, whereas the drum kit sounds far more natural and organic, the sparkling leads/solos also shine wonderfully thanks to that very same bare bones and rather dry production. The album is custodian to live staple ‘Carnal’ and while it is the first album to feature long-time guitarist Maurycy ’Mauser’ Stefanowicz there isn’t much of a difference from the albums that preceded or followed it. Opener ‘Heading For Internal Darkness’ works wonderfully thanks to the decreased velocity, although when it puts the pedal to the metal Vader is in fine form as they always are. One of the first things to stand out is that “Black To the Blind” isn’t as blindingly fast as its illustrious predecessor. While the cards were stacked against the album from a technical standpoint Vader can always be relied upon, and “Black To the Blind” is no different in that respect. Clocking under 28 minutes “Black To the Blind”, the third Vader album, is short even by their own standards. On top of that one track was omitted in post-production leaving the band with a flawed product to push. Often considered a black page in Vader’s early discography “Black To the Blind” not only is marred by a thin, substandard production – but it is also tucked within two veritable classics with “De Profundis” and “Litany”, respectively.
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