Review by Greg on February 4, 2026.

Believe it or not, once I heard about the news of a new Vindicator full-length, it instantly jumped up among my most anticipated 2025 releases, or at least the ones I was the most curious about. Yeah, a couple of steps below the new Coroner, for sure – that is, along with every other common mortal. But I do reserve a soft spot for bands that I know can craft a great album sooner or later, yet never quite got it right so far, for one reason or another, and this is no exception.

This Whispers Of Death brings quite the novelty to the table: a change at the mic and the return of original vocalist Marshall Law, with Vic Stown back on rhythm guitars only. Now, Law's previous stint with Vindicator began as a piercing screamer on There Will Be Blood, and ended... almost reading the lyrics on the beat on The Antique Witcheries, probably in an attempt to match the band's concomitant shift to a more melodic style, still without sacrificing speed. Nevertheless, I'd always assumed he was actually on his way to losing his voice and decided to step back, so it's safe to say I wasn't expecting this at all. What's even more surprising is, well, the vocals themselves. Turns out the modern Obituary comparison Sweetie did might make more sense than it appeared at first sight... Law is so ferocious and pissed off that he wouldn't sound out of place on a death metal album. He's all over the album, and, truth be told, his lines aren't terribly different from each other, but he also belts out some mighty growls every now and then that make one condone every venial sin. It's easily his best performance, for my money. I had to double-check they didn't sneak in a totally different guy with the same pseudonym (Death SS style), so massive is the difference.

At this point, I'd even have settled for a rehash of some earlier material with stronger vocals, but Vindicator decided to roll with it fully and try new things. 'Charnel Pastures' is the obvious eye-catcher, flooring you with an avalanche of blast-beats in the verses, plausibly their heaviest song ever. Not quite mastering the modern melodic death/thrash blend like Invicta, of course, but what they lack in memorability is dutifully made up for with sincere anger. The guys flirt further with death metal on the bridge of the closer 'Ripper Attack', although overall it's more of an exception to the rule. I like to believe that the production, entrusted to Ben Bennett (Xoth, formerly Warbringer on their killer "Waking Into Nightmares"), didn't hurt as well. There are some other cool touches here and there, like the half-clean refrain of 'Thirst For Violence', which I wasn't expecting to work this well in this context, despite being a tried-and-tested weapon at this point.

For the rest, it ain't much dissimilar from the band's trademark recipe, with the due differences in the vocal approach. A generous dose of traditional speed-y thrash, topped with the elaborate soloing that has always given Vindicator that extra edge. It's always been somewhat frustrating to see extremely good guitarists shredding on a single album and subsequently disappearing, although, on the upside, the dudes seem to know extremely well where to look for an up-to-par substitute. That said, Billy Zahn is the first lucky guy to persist for a second album in a row, which is definitely worth emphasising, with my favourite lead moments being in 'Merry Evenings Make Sad Mornings', both the dreamy intro, halfway between Hexen and later Skeletonwitch, and the main solo. Perhaps not every song is up to par: 'Exhaustion', somewhat living up to its title, is a bit too repetitive and not varied enough – even if, based upon the lyrics, I get the feeling Law might not really care, after all – and it doesn't add much coming after the already stripped-down scorcher 'Your World Dies In Flame', which had a cool and intense melodic bridge in its favour. 'Battle Box' is another unspectacular track, driving the same percussive riff for a bit too long, and the spoken delivery of the following 'Abominable Intelligence' felt rather puzzling.

Nevertheless, this... might be it, dare I say. Vindicator has finally played to their strengths here, and they thought well to dissimulate their less inspired moments with a blind fury they've never quite employed before. While it could be argued that their sound had kept thriving in its own niche since day one, a niche carved more and more as albums went by, they've now found an even more personal style, merging their two main eras. Whispers Of Death is still not quite all-killer-no-filler, but it's a very strong offering nonetheless, especially to celebrate one's (first) 20 years of career. It's also a fresh start after the rather forgettable Communal Decay, and hopefully the beginning of a new era for the band.

Rating: 8 out of 10