What happened? I'm guessing the first thing was Doc's departure from the band. This man was a drum god and as triggered as his kit was, make no mistake that the bastard could play! His bass drums sounded like explosions but more importantly he knew when to glide on his kit and when to blast the fuck out of it. His replacement on The Beast does a good job holding things together but he clearly lacks the mastery and the extra something Doc would inject into Vader's songs.
Next on the list is Peter's voice. He sounds tired and almost non-threatening and his spoken word style/ geriatric death growl just isnt working for me. Wheres the ferocity we heard on Litany? The actual music seems to have slowed down and lost some edge. Vader have always worn their Slayer influence on their sleeve (hell, their cover of "Raining Blood" rivials the original) but it seems to be out of control on this new record. Maybe they were trying to create their very own South of Heaven but it just doesnt fit.
This is still a good metal record and songs like 'The Zone" and "Choices" will get your headbanging. Its just that I was expecting more from VADER! Too bad they dropped off the upcoming Cannibal Corpse tour...maybe seeing these songs live might change my mind. Heres hoping they come back in the near future and bring Doc with them.