UMUR
"Metamorphosis" is the 4th full-length studio album by US death metal act Vile. The album was released through Willowtip Records in November 2011.
The music is technically well played US death metal. I´m thinking mid-nineties Morbid Angel a couple of times during the playing time, but Vile have ultimately created their own sound (without sounding completely unique). While technically well played, and varied when it comes to tempo changes, this is by no means technical death metal. It´s rather old school US death metal of the more technically well played kind. The vocals are predominantly growling and only slightly intelligible but for effect the growls are occasionally spiced up with some higher pitched screams. It works very well for the diversity of the vocals on the album, which otherwise might have become a bit one-dimensional. The band use lots of fast harmony tremolo picking but also heavier semi-dissonant riffing, while the drums either blast away or play slower parts with fast double pedal work underneath.
The 11 tracks on the 38:22 minutes long album are all well composed, well played and the sound production is professional and suits the music well. It´s a sound production that emphasises detail rather than power and aggression, which isn´t an everyday feature when we´re talking death metal, but it works really well on "Metamorphosis".
"Metamorphosis" is all in all a quality US death metal album that might not stand out too much from the pack, but delivers in almost every other aspect. A treat that deserves a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating.