Black to the Blind is the third studio album by the Polish death metal band Vader. It was released on 13 October 1997 in Europe and Poland by System Shock/SPV and Koch International Poland, respectively. Japanese edition with one bonus track was released by Avalon/Marquee. In 2025, Joe DiVita of Loudwire named the album as the best death metal album of 1997.
The album was nominated for a Fryderyk Award in the category 'Hard & Heavy Album of the Year (Album roku - hard & heavy)'.
Background and release history Black to the Blind was recorded between July and August 1997 at Selani Studio in Olsztyn, Poland, and was produced by Piotr "Peter" Wiwczarek and Andrzej Bomba. The album was mastered by Julita Emanuiłow. The album features cover art by Jacek Wiśniewski. The song "Carnal" taken from this album was used in the Polish action movie Gniew (Anger) from 1998, directed by Marcin Ziębiński. It was also released by Koch International as part of the movie soundtrack.
In 2012, Witching Hour Productions released a remastered edition of Black to the Blind with new cover art, and layout by Zbigniew Bielak. Remastering was made by Wiesławscy Brothers, and it took place at Hertz Studio, Białystok in Poland.
Music Joe DiVita of Loudwire described the album's music, saying: "With just one song cracking four minutes, Vader’s mechanized riffs were a devastating blur and a resounding statement that competition was still fierce regarding pure speed."
Track listing
Personnel Production and performance credits are adapted from the album liner notes. Vader Peter – guitars, vocals, bass, Doc – drums Mauser – rhythm guitar (credited, did not perform) Shambo – bass (credited, did not perform) Production Peter – production Paweł Frelik – lyrics Tomasz Krajewski – lyrics Paweł Wasilewski – lyrics Andrzej Bomba – sound engineering, production Julita Emanuiłow – mastering Jacek Wiśniewski – cover art Michał Pasich – photos Takahisa Okuno – Japanese liner notes Wojtek & Sławek Wiesławscy – remastering Zbigniew Bielak – cover art, layout (re-release)
Charts + Chart performance for Black to the Blind Chart (2025) Peakposition
Carnal / Black to the Blind Carnal / Black to the Blind is the second single by the Polish death metal band Vader. It was released only in Poland in 1997 with special edition of Thrash'em All magazine entitled Super Poster" #1. Apart from promo single insert includes interview with Piotr "Peter" Wiwczarek, Polish translation of lyrics from Black to the Blind, and additional information about the band.
Track listing
Release history Region Date Label Europe, Poland 13 October 1997 System Shock/Impact Records, Koch International Poland USA 21 April 1998 Pavement Music Japan 23 March 2000 Avalon Marquee Poland 27 November 2012 Witching Hour Productions
References