Vader's first live album is called The Darkest Age-Live '93, and it's certainly not their best (the later Live in Japan is much better), but it's a decent representation of where the band was back in 1993. Recently reissued by Metal Mind Productions, this furious live album shows a very raw death metal band who at the time had yet to perfect the style that they so strongly perform today. Peter's vocals had not yet hit the mark that he would achieve towards the end of the 90's, and the bands early music had more in common with Slayer than the brutal death metal behemoths they would become in a few short years. Still, early Vader definitely much better than most extreme metal of the time period, and there's no shortage of killer stuff here. "Victorius Circle" rampages at full throttle, and other tunes like "Crucified Ones", "Decapitated Saints", "Demon's Wind", and "Reign-Carrion" are perhaps more brutal and faster than their studio counterparts. The buzzsaw riffs of Peter and China wreak plenty of havoc throughout this set, and Doc's pounding beats are relentless. As has been their tradition for many live shows, they finish the set with a cover of a Slayer song, this time it's "Hell Awaits", easily more brutal and faster than even the mighty Slayer played it.
While The Darkest Age-Live '93 is overall not the best sounding live album you will ever hear, the performance more than makes up for any audio deficiencies. The CD comes with a great little booklet stuffed with photographs, making this a fun early live document of one of death metal's most important bands.
Track Listing
1. Macbeth (Intro)
2. Dark Age
3. Vicious Circle
4. Crucified Ones
5. Demon's Wind
6. Decapitated Saints
7. From Beyond (Intro)
8. Chaos
9. Reign-Carrion
10. Testimony
11. Breath Of Centuries
12. Omen (Intro)
13. Hell Awaits
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