Vile
Depopulate

Just when I almost managed to convince the world that Cannibal Corpse is no longer relevant, here I am forced to retract everything I've said so far; the band from Buffalo still holds a crucial role in the genre's evolution! Some might say "but this review isn't about Cannibal Corpse!" and those who know them will say "What evolution when they've been doing the same things for sixteen years!"; but no, my dear know-it-alls, you're gravely mistaken (or Brutally mistaken, I'm as funny as a pesto cannoli)! Because George Fisher, ten years ago, wasn't wearing Vile t-shirts (also because they didn't exist yet) and since I got to know these guys thanks to Giorgione's t-shirt, I have to consider him an indirect promoter of Death Metal evolution. Yes, because unlike our Cannibal Corpse, Vile managed (even though they started their career about ten years after the genre's Boom) to do something new; now don't expect the genre to rise to its former glory thanks to them, but they'll certainly refresh a genre that continues to reuse the stylistic devices of ten (and more) years ago.
Originating from California, they were quickly snapped up by Unique Leader, a label owned by Deeds Of Flesh that practically has a monopoly on bands from that area (in the extreme metal domain, of course). Before releasing "The New Age Of Chaos" last year and after releasing "The Stench Of The Deceased," our guys, in 2002, put out this "Depopulate", a platter of nine deadly Brutal Death tracks. However, compared to their "colleagues" on Unique Leader (Disgorge, Decrepit Birth, Severed Savior, and Deeds Of Flesh themselves), Vile shows broader visions that translate into a stylistic approach influenced by the early nineties Floridian school. Don't take me wrong (an Italianization of "Don't Get Me Wrong," but tell me I'm as funny as a pesto cannoli), Vile has a completely different sound from Deicide, Monstrosity and company (!?!), but to a certain extent, it's fair to say they've drawn inspiration from those masters; "Nothing new under the sun," someone might think, sure, but as I said, it's not very common in the area dominated by Unique Leader and therefore Vile is a very welcome surprise. It's hard to mention some reference groups, even though the first ones that come to mind are none other than Cryptopsy and Suffocation, besides, of course, the aforementioned West Coast bands.

What makes this album (and generally this band) special is the presence of two guitarists completely out of the ordinary for technical skill and inventiveness; if the songs in themselves would be typical Death Metal songs, made of lightning-fast rhythms and some slowdowns to thicken the sound, the killer riffing of the two transforms them into exceptional Brutal Death metal songs. The parts, as I was saying, are at the peak in terms of complexity and are certainly the result of a painstaking assembly work as long as it was laborious: among numerous more or less fragmented scales (sometimes even with a faint Black flavor), they insert chords of immense execution difficulty that are the proof, sometimes literally showered, of great skill. However, the two also pay attention to the needs of bloodthirsty fans, and in the slow passages, they manage to strip themselves of various refinements to effectively massacre the ears of those who want to harm themselves. It's impossible not to mention the twin guitars in the deadly finale of "Eat The Rude", a brilliantly successful mix of technique and power. The drumming is impeccable, always focused on blast beats and rather fast tempos, but while it doesn't pale, it certainly takes a back seat compared to the work done by the two six-strings; although I can't speak of a "already heard" rhythm section, certainly the impact is inferior not so much in terms of power but for compositional creativity. The same goes for the singer, a good growler but quite flat and unable to modulate his voice. Talking about the bassist is even superfluous; if already Brutal Death isn't a genre that gives much space to this instrument, certainly such a filtered production (even if not as much as those of Scott Burns) and centered on the two prima donnas (I am referring to the guitarists) isn't a good enhancer.   

Unfortunately, not all episodes are equally successful, and some fall into the boring: sometimes our guys get lost along the way and the others, sorry to say, alone can't make "Depopulate" a masterpiece (but just a good Brutal Death metal album) and that's enough to blow away the top marks. Not all songs can keep up behind tracks of the caliber of "Eat The Rude", "Butchered", "Retalitation" or the acoustic concluding "Bitterness": moreover, if we really wanted to be nitpickers, there are a couple of riffs that reappear here and there on the album more than once and, even if I believe this is due to a deliberate choice and not a lack of ideas (given the number of riffs they churn out, making three more is not a huge effort), it's still a fact that I find annoying.

But if we really don't want to split hairs, we can focus on a much more evident flaw; as you might notice just from my review, the space dedicated to talking about the guitarists is even greater than that dedicated to all the other band members. Their virtuosity sometimes becomes heavy, exaggerated, redundant, all to the detriment of the other instruments that find themselves, more or less voluntarily, confined in too small a space to express themselves at their best.

All in all, however, this doesn't spoil the final result, which is decidedly very good; for those who play guitar, "Depopulate" is a must, one of those CDs that will stir your envy and keep you busy for a while trying to figure out what the hell those two are doing with their instrument. For those who don't dabble in playing but are fond of Brutal Death metal, it will certainly be an above-average release to tinker with for weeks on end.