Since the beginning of 2022, Vader has had a new drummer, whose name has recently been revealed. The band’s new sticksman is Michał Andrzejczyk, who made his debut with the death metal legends during the Polish leg of the ‘Awakening of Tyrants‘ tour.

Michał Andrzejczyk, photo: AirDrift Photography Henryk Michaluk

The statement on Vader‘s official Facebook profile reads:

“Michał (aka Michael) started to work with James Stewart on Vader songs already in 2021 then we rehearsed a few times with whole band in our brand new rehearsal space. James decided to leave during our US tour in 2020, however, he was playing and working with us as long as [it was] necessary until the new drummer would be ready to replace him. Peter did not want to make it official until you could experience the high level [of drumming skills] and Spirit of this very young but already very powerful drummer. […]”

From left to right: Tomasz “Hal” Halicki, Piotr “Peter” Wiwczarek, Michał “Michael” Andrzejczyk, Marek “Spider” Pająk (Photo: Artur Tarczewski)

“James Stewart took his decision and we respect it. He spent over ten years (!!!) with Vader having recorded many great albums and played hundreds of crazy shows worldwide. That was the most stable line-up in the band’s history. James will definitely explain everything in his own words soon. We wish him the best of luck with his bands and projects and THX for all those crazy years spent together as real band.”

Michał “Michael” Andrzejczyk comments exclusively for en.beatit.tv:

“Joining Vader and becoming its part is a dream come true for me. It is a great honour and a huge challenge. I’ve been a fan ever since I can remember, I actually grew up on this music. It also accompanied me when I was taking my first steps behind the drum kit. This means that each of Vader’s drummers before me has had a hand in shaping me as a drummer, especially James Stewart, thanks to whom I’ve reached this point in my career. I have a lot of work to do but I’ll do my best not to disappoint the band and, above all, the fans.”

James Stewart is concentrating on developing his career with Decapitated. The band’s new album, titled “Cancer Culture“, is due out in May, and the single “Hello Death” (featuring Jinjer’s Tatiana Shmailyuk) has already been released.