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Vile come to crush with The New Age of Chaos and are very successful at putting together a killer Brutal Death Metal record, even if originality is allowed to perhaps suffer a bit. But then, it should be noted that Brutal Death Metal doesn't often allow the most variation within the sub-subgenre. Vocally and musically speaking the band sounds like they've been influenced by only Cannibal Corpse and Broken Hope. The vocals primarily stay in the ultra-guttural Broken Hope realm, veering once in a while into prime George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher (Cannibal Corpse) territory. The focus of the album stays primarily on the guitars and drums, both being prominent and potent. Guest bassist Jack Gibson of Exodus fame adds a killer sound with his bass rattling and rolling around like the bastard child of Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse) and Bay Area Thrash in general. You might be thinking "That's an awful lot of references to Cannibal Corpse," and you'd be right, faithful reader. The music sounds like it could've been made by Cannibal Corpse ("Suicide Warfare" has more than a passing similarity to Cannibal Corpse's killer "Festering in the Crypt"), Vile have toured with said band, and according to the press release, Vile are "endorsed by Cannibal Corpse members" -- whatever that means.
Quick hits: "Worldhunt" features a cool bass line (quasi-solo sounding as it dominates a passage or two), "The Burning Shrines" reportedly features guest vocals from Steev Esquivel (Skinlab) though you'd never know it since they're unlike anything he's ever done, and soundbites regarding Saddam Hussein's capture open the title track. The band gains points for avoiding the standard lyrical fare of the subgenre. Oh, sure war is essentially the theme, but this album takes aim at the whole Iraq affair, Al-Qaeda/terrorism in particular, and radical Islam in general. The artwork shows a bloody scimitar and a halved Earth with brains inside, simulating a sliced open head, perhaps courtesy of Al-Qaeda. Fallujah is called out in the lyrics and what appear to be shadows of the falling World Trade Center Twin Towers appear, too. Deeper than it has to be, this is quality Death Metal. At two seconds under 30 minutes, it is perhaps a bit brief.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Devour |
| 2. Deafening Silence |
| 3. The New Age Of Chaos |
| 4. Suicide Warfare |
| 5. Sentenced To Live |
| 6. The Burning Shrines |
| 7. Ritual Decapitation |
| 8. Worldhunt |
| 9. Forlorn |
: 29.58
| Buy other Vile albums |
