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The Ultimate Incantation is the debut studio album by Polish death metal band Vader. It was released in 1992 by Earache Records. A music video was shot for the song "Dark Age", which was directed by Kimmo Kuusniemi and Tanja Katinka.
Background and recording
The cover art was drawn by Dan Seagrave. The album was originally recorded at Sunlight Studio with Thomas Skogsberg, but neither the record label or Vader was pleased with the outcome and decided to use another studio because of technical issues. The new studio that they recorded at was Rhythm Studios in England with producer Paul Johnson. Piotr "Peter" Wiwczarek commented on Decibel magazine about recording album at Sunlight Studios, saying:
It was rather an opportunity to record our debut album at the famous Sunlight. We knew many fabulous LPs recorded in this studio, so the whole of Vader was more than happy. There was no real acoustic drum kit in the studio. Not one of us was expecting or had worked before on such equipment. We had nothing to say, but had to keep recording on what we had available. We owned no professional equipment yet. We had to use rented stuff and what was provided to play in the studio. My guitar was maybe good enough for live performances, but far from being studio-ready. Doc brought some cymbals and pedals and that was it. All we had in-studio were electronic drum pads and a combo amp for guitar. Vader was all about blastbeats… and that electronic drum kit was not made for that.
Reception and legacy
Steve Huey of AllMusic contended that The Ultimate Incantation cemented Vader as one of the most technically proficient bands in the death metal genre. However, he claimed that the raw production values impaired the clarity of the album's instrumentation.
Track listing
No.
Title
Lyrics
Music
Length
1.
"Creation (Intro)" (instrumental)
Piotr Wiwczarek
1:29
2.
"Dark Age"
Piotr Wiwczarek
Piotr Wiwczarek
4:40
3.
"Vicious Circle"
Paweł Wasilewski
Piotr Wiwczarek
2:53
4.
"The Crucified Ones"
Piotr Wiwczarek
Piotr Wiwczarek
3:36
5.
"Final Massacre"
Paweł Wasilewski
Piotr Wiwczarek
4:55
6.
"Testimony"
Piotr Wiwczarek
Piotr Wiwczarek
4:00
7.
"Reign Carrion"
Piotr Wiwczarek
Piotr Wiwczarek
6:49
8.
"Chaos"
Paweł Wasilewski
Piotr Wiwczarek
4:27
9.
"One Step to Salvation"
Piotr Wiwczarek
3:48
10.
"Demon's Wind"
Piotr Wiwczarek
4:27
11.
"Decapitated Saints"
Piotr Wiwczarek
Piotr Wiwczarek
2:27
12.
"Breath of Centuries"
Paweł Wasilewski
Piotr Wiwczarek
4:51
Total length:
48:25
Personnel
Production and performance credits are adapted from the album liner notes.
Cover art by Dan Seagrave
