Band:	Cannibal Corpse
Album:	Vile
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	May 21, 1996
Guest review by:	Deadmeat

Disc I [CD]
01. Devoured By Vermin
02. Mummified In Barbed Wire
03. Perverse Suffering
04. Disfigured
05. Bloodlands
06. Puncture Wound Massacre
07. Relentless Beating
08. Absolute Hatred
09. Eaten From Inside
10. Orgasm Through Torture
11. Monolith

Disc II [re-released in 2007 with bonus DVD]
Live at 2/3/97
01. Perverse Suffering
02. Stripped Raped And Strangled
03. Covered With Sores
04. Monolith
05. Addicted To Vaginal Skin
06. Force Fed Broken Glass
07. Fucked With A Knife
08. Gutted
09. Bloodlands
10. Shredded Humans
11. Staring Through The Eyes Of The Dead
12. A Skull Full Of Maggots
13. Devoured By Vermin
14. Hammer Smashed Face
Live at 2/4/97
15. Pulverized
16. Puncture Wound Massacre
17. Mummified In Barbed Wire
18. Orgasm Through Torture

In 1995, due to some differences with the other members of the band, Chris Barnes left Cannibal Corpse. He was replaced by George Fisher - best known as "Corpsegrinder"- who had already gained a good fame when he was the vocalist of Monstrosity. The fans' expectations were very high because of two reasons: 1. Just one year ago, Cannibal Corpse had released "Bleeding" which is (even today) nominated as their best album, 2. When your favorite band has a vocalist as great as Barnes then you expect his reliever to be at least as good as he was.

"Vile" came one year later disappointing a little bit the fans of the band, who expected a more powerful release as a follower of "Bleeding". But "Vile" is NOT a bad album.The band surely didn't progress their music with it, but it is a good Death Metal piece. It's just Cannibal Corpse, which means that the components remain the same: technical and super fast riffing, one of the best bass players in the world, fast drumming, violent and really Brutal Death Metal growls and lyrics with a strong reference to open-bodied and mutilated dead people including also all the possible ways to rip out someone's heart!

As for the content of the album, "Vile" has some very good songs. "Perverse Suffering" and "Orgasm Through Torture" (the part where Corpsegrinder screams "Suffer to survive!" is awesome!) are my personal favorites. "Devoured With Vermin" and "Monolith" are also two really violent songs. Even if the songs sound boring some times, the album is generally good. The production is an advantage of it. The instruments sound very clean, while the sound doesn't lose the classic rawness and brutality the band is stamped of.

Something bad about "Vile" is the cover artwork which is very simple and less "red" than the covers of the past albums -the main reason is Barnes's withdrawal, as he was drawing himself the cover artworks for Cannibal Corpse's first albums.

To sum up, "Vile" is not Cannibal Corpse's best work but it isn't also the worst. That's all. So, if you are into brutal Death Metal or if you are just a big fan of this band, you should at least check this album. If you dislike Cannibal Corpse then just forget it.