Vader

It’s damn near unthinkable that a death metal band that’s been around as long as Vader has can keep getting better and better, but these Polish legends just keep upping their own ante. By utilising a more thrash-oriented approach for the past few albums, these guys manage to write songs that are catchy in a Slayer-esque way, yet completely devastating as good death metal should be. Vader never get bogged down in the bass-drenched mud a lot of death metal bands sink in, and they also never allow themselves to lose the idea of song amidst technical flash. Add in that oddly powerful cold emotion in tunes like "The Sea Came in At Last,” and it’s death metal perfection. The only complaint one may muster is that, yes, this sounds a heck of a lot like the last album, but to that I would be inclined to point out the incredible drumming of fill-in guy Daray, who plays Bostaph to Vader’s normal skin basher Doc’s Lombardo, if that makes any sense to you. If it does, sounds like The Beast is right up your alley.