VILE -

VILE - STENCH OF THE DECEASED - LISTENABLE
In its short time in the death metal underground, California's Vile has garnered a good reputation and amassed some impressive following. The band's brand of guttural death metal obviously has its many enthusisasts which explains why France's Listenable Records has now re-released the band's debut with three live songs and a demo track tagged as a bonus. Vile is a brutally hard band that proudly sticks to the tenets of death metal. There really is little that is fundamentally wrong with the band. The group plays with gusto and the vocalist breathes death through his growls. Having said that, the band has little that is outstanding or overly exciting. Vile has taken the best of the death metal scene and emulated and replicated much of it here. The deep vocals are close to Broken Hope, the slower and drawn-out riffs are reminiscent of Morbid Angel and the chord structures have a Cannibal Corpse signature. Mix those bands together and Vile gushes out of the blender spewing filth and putrid sickness everywhere. While the delivery is pleasurable (in a masochistic way), Vile needs to make music that is more its own than what it offers here in order to rise above. - Ali "The Metallian"

VILE - THE NEW AGE OF CHAOS - UNIQUE LEADER  
It is no coincidence that this band shares names with a Cannibal Corpse album. Vile is a compact and convincing death metal band that gets it right when playing slowly, plating fast or trying on a rhythm change. The vocals are both growled and screamed convincingly, the bass chugs loudly and every solo is performed with dexterity and fluidity. Yes, shades of newer Cannibal Corpse and Malevolent Creation can and will be heard every time Vile makes an appearance, although the band really has developed its own identity here. Part of that is the album's design and lyrics addressing the malaise in the Middle East and occupation of Iraq right now. As someone pointed out though, what the hell is "the dessert land"? An imaginary country glazed with candy? - Anna Tergel