Vile
Metamorphosis ()
Wydane przez Willowtip Records/Hammerheart RecordsRok wydania Kraj USANapisał Wouter6
In the last few years the Californian death metal scene has undergone somewhat of a transformation. Many of the old ambassadors of said scene have decided to shed the more restrictive shackles of their death metal sound, opting for a more progressive, melodic and altogether more forward-thinking direction. Vile certain isn’t the first band to undergo such staggering reworking, as units such as Cattle Decapitation, Decrepit Birth, Deeds Of Flesh, Odious Mortem and Severed Savior preceded them in years prior. “Metamorphosis” is the band’s first record since 2003’s “The New Age Of Chaos” (a record dealing with the second Iraq war and the terrorist threat), this new album is the first to deal with Vile’s new lyrical concept, that of New World Order conspiracies. Where the band’s first two offerings (1999’s “Stench Of the Deceased” and 2002’s “Depopulate”) offered a rather standard interpretation of the Cannibal Corpse – and Suffocation sound, their third record went for more subtle melody. ‘The Revealing’ and ‘What Lies Beyond’ are perhaps the strongest Vile cuts to date, yet the rest of the album isn’t able to deliver on that promise. The attempts at experimentation and progression certainly are laudable, but the integration of keyboards and various non-grunted vocal stylings isn’t exactly brimming with innovation. Such things have been standard fare for melodic, symphonic and technical metal styles for over a decade. Seeing them in a death metal context is hardly revolutionary either, as Nocturnus did keyboards as early as the 1990’s and emotive vocals have been a staple of the Gothenburg melo-death sound for over a decade. Vile’s “Metamorphosis” isn’t quite as drastic as the recent overhauls of Decrepit Birth, Deeds Of Flesh and Severed Savior – yet Colin Davis should be applauded for at least attempting to do so. It is also refreshing to see a different lyrical focus, as the usual themes of horror, gore and mutilation are wearing out their welcome.
www.willowtip.com , www.hammerheart.com
