Quo Vadis – Politics

Old Temple returns to the roots of (in this case a Polish) metal, and with undisguised pride presents next re-release. This time it’s the re-release of Politics, a twelve-tracker sophomore album by Quo Vadis (a Latin phrase meaning ‘where are you going?’), originally released in 1993! Now some of you mighty think who are Quo Vadis? To that I can just say that Quo Vadis is one of the most important extreme metal acts on the Polish scene! Thus, Politics is also one of the most important releases of the Polish underground.

The band was very aggressive and fast at the beginning of its activity, where the driving force was thrash, but their inclinations towards heaviness also brought them slightly closer to death metal. One might even say; where the band’s debut self-titled album is believed to be one of the first full length thrash/death metal albums to be created in Poland (debut was re-released on one CD in two language versions with Polish and English lyrics), this second full-length was more a great continuation of what the band presented on their debut album, Quo Vadis. In other words; Politics is a mix of an aggressive thrash and death metal with their trademark poisonous lyrics describing early 90’s of the last century reality. Their handling of the instruments is superb; often employing heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, mainly deep growling but also varied vocals, blast beat drumming and strong bass textures.

Except lyrics, the booklet has been enhanced with archival band photos and a produced on a gold CD. The production is balanced and equalised, characterised by a particular emphasis on low‑end definition, overall clarity and intelligibility. Cover artwork is also typical for the time; using humour, irony and outright absurdity to create memorable album cover that stand out in a sea of grim imagery. Cover art for Politics is one of these ones that is noteworthy memorable.

Lastly, Poles are really good at all extreme metal genres, including the powerful death/thrash scene particularly in the late 80’s. However, it’s hard for me to give an example of a Polish thrash album that I could consider better than Politics, as it has much more than just a sentimental value. It’s all natural and charming here, thus Politics is a must have for all fans of the old aggressive thrash & death metal and acts as Vader, Merciless Death, Sodom, Sepultura, Slayer, Morbid Saint, Cryptic Slaughter etc.

If you want to support the band and listen to this particular album ten visit https://oldtemple.bandcamp.com/album/quo-vadis-politics