There’s something to be said for no frills, competently brutal, US death metal and Vile, along with Divine Empire’s Method of Execution have delivered it in droves.Compared to other Unique Leader bands like Decrepit Birth, Agiel, Gorgasm, Internal Suffering and such, Vile’s third album is actually rather tame; there’s some control, some blackened melody, solos and some actual variety on this release that doesn’t just shear your face off in one endless blast. The end result is a solid, enjoyable album of US styled brutality that reins things in a bit and ends up far more memorable and sounding a bit like a more guttural Council of the Fallen.

Now, don’t get me wrong, The New Age of Chaos isn’t redefining death metal, but it is making it energetic and far from rudimentary and dull. All the tracks deliver plenty of shredding, blasting, lumbering and lyrical barbs against today’s strife ridden religious and political climate all wrapped up in a typically professional and clean Unique Leader production and layout. Juan Urteaga has the now common place guttural growl/high pitch scream down pat, but is indistinguishable from hundreds of other death metal vocalists, but they do the job. Drummer Tyson Jupin, a new name to me, seems to have a Tim Yeung tightness to his style (further enhancing the Council of the Fallen comparison), and looks to be a bright young star in American percussive brutality.

From the blackish swirl of opener “Devour,” through the brutal vortex of “Suicide Warfare,” the neck snapping closure of “Sentenced to Live,” the smooth lumbering climax of “The Burning Shrines,” the rumbling “Ritual Decapitation,” smartly paced “Worldhunt” to ambient closer “Forlorn,” The New Age of Chaos is unpretentiously technical and suitably savage.

My only beef with this album is its generic competency; when listening to The New Age of Chaos and Divine Empire’s Method of Execution side by side, I found myself trying to figure out which band it was and only after a quick glance at my Ipod’s display screen was I able to discern to two. Still, that’s a minor gripe with a genre that isn’t striving for originality, just entertainment; and Vile again deliver the death metal goods.

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