Necropolis is the eighth studio album by the Polish death metal band Vader. The album was released on 21 August 2009 by Nuclear Blast.[9] The album was nominated for a Fryderyk Award in the category 'Heavy Metal Album of the Year (Album roku heavy metal)'.[10] On 8 April 2009, Vader released the first part of their studio report for the album.[11] Subsequently, the second part was released on 22 April, and the third part was released on 27 May.[12][13]
Necropolis was recorded between March and April 2009 at Hertz Studio in Białystok, Poland, and was produced by Tue Madsen. Mixing and mastering for the album took place at Antfarm Studio in Denmark by Madsen, except the songs "The Seal" and "Summoning the Futura", which were mixed at VooDoo Gates Studio in Olsztyn, Poland. Necropolis is the first Vader release that features drummer Paweł "Paul" Jaroszewicz. A video was shot for the song "Never Say My Name", which is based partially on the book "The Gospel According To Satan" by Patrick Graham.[14]Piotr "Peter" Wiwczarek talked about working on the set for videoclip, saying:
We started the video shooting on August 15, at about noon. That day we were in for the Last Supper and the slaughter of the Messiah's followers shots, while during the night we were to take some bluebox and Janus shots. [...] The next day we took the martyr shots and the Romans' armament ones, which were crucial for 'Necropolis'. Sunday. [...] It wasn't so easy that day... The owner of the place, who at first was eager to rent it to the Inbornmedia crew, found it enough when it came to the crucifixion, burning and the transformation of the Messiah into Janus. My roars and the burying crucifix brought about an immediate response of the security guards. They called the police and we were supposed to leave the gravel pit at once... Fortunately, we managed to 'steal' one more hour before the cops arrived.[15]
The album sold around 1,130 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album reached number 19 on the Billboard Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers). In Poland, Necropolis landed at position No. 5, and dropped out five weeks later. The album also charted in France and Germany.
