AN NCS PREMIERE: VILE RITES — “SENESCENT”

As you can see above, Justyna Koziczak created a truly stunning piece of artwork for the cover of the debut album by the California-based progressive death metal band Vile Rites. It also reveals the inspirational source of the album’s name — Senescence — and it creates a connection to the album track we’re premiering today — “Senescent“. Here’s the explanation we have from Vile Rites‘ founder and vocalist/guitarist, Alex Miletich:

The inspiration for the title track, “Senescent“, as well as the general theme of the album came from the life cycle of the octopus. For those that might not know, octopuses are born with no parental guidance (that we understand at least) and are forced to wander the waters alone. Once they are mature and find a mate, the female will lay her eggs and stay with them protecting and caring for them until they hatch, starving herself and ultimately dying in the process of creating new life.

Not only is this a profound symbol for the sacrifices that mothers make to create new life, but for the endless cycle of death and rebirth in general. We are born into the world with nothing but a vessel, and we only leave behind the legacy of what we’ve created.

Photography by Hannabal Rosabal

The music of Vile Rites has evolved since its original (and thrashier) conception in 2017. And now, in truth, there is very little about the music that is vile. The press materials offered by Carbonized Records, which will release Senescence on August 16th, accurately sums up key features of the new music this way:

Senescence is a forty-minute journey of mind-bending psychedelic death metal that takes its listeners through everything from cavernous darkness to soaring ethereal ecstasy with surprises around every corner.

That summary suits not only the album as a whole, but also the new song you’re about to hear.

Immediately, the music eccentrically throbs and whirls, indeed like writhing tentacles, and quickly becomes more frantic in its swirling contortions. But you’ll soon be reminded that this is a death metal song, as the drums viciously chop and ruthlessly hammer, and as the words spill forth in monstrous growls.

If you feel your head beginning to spin already, be ready for it to spin even more extravagantly. The music starts, stops, and changes its tempo with abandon. The guitars swivel as well, seeming to dismally moan and feverishly skitter, to convulse in seizures of circle-saw violence, to dart like menaced but very colorful fish, to blare like dissonant sirens, and to ring like mysterious and mesmerizing chimes — and the song’s exhilarating guitar solos might be the most head-spinning spectacles of them all.

Meanwhile, the prominent, warmly-toned, and extremely nimble bass undergoes its own constantly morphing manifestations, and the drums perform like a top-tier acrobat, equally varied and adventurous in their routines.

The three performers’ technical skills are fantastic — and they would need to be, to pull off a song like this one. But the songwriting is also top-shelf, because as wildly kaleidoscopic as the music is, it hangs together very well, with astutely placed motifs that provide the recurring links in the dazzling chain.

 

 

Today’s premiere was preceded by an earlier one, for the song “Shiftless Wanderings“. It too is well worth your time, and we’re including that stream below, but would first like to share what Alex Miletich has said about it:

“Shiftless Wanderings” is inspired by the idea of hibernation and retreating within to escape the brutality and harshness of reality and the world. When an animal goes into hibernation in the wild, it chooses between facing the harsh elements, or solitary starvation for months on end. They must strike a balance between the two in order to survive.

This idea of escapism applies to us humans, especially in the unprecedented times we live in these days. While we must face the realities of the real world, it is necessary to retreat sometimes for the sake of our own sanity. One must strike the same balance that the wild animal does to both be a contributing member of society and to cope with the heinous brutality and cold apathy that our society perpetuates.

The music for this song represents a transition for the band because it includes many riffs written by our drummer, Aerin Johnson. Since I wrote all the riffs on The Ageless EP, this song gives everyone a taste of the broader influence and increased dynamics that will be presented.

VILE RITES is:
Alex Miletich: Guitars/Vocals
Stephen Coon: Bass/Synth/Field Recordings
Aerin Johnson: Drums

Senescence was produced, mixed, and mastered by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studio. As noted, the cover art was created by Justyna Koziczak. The logo, additional artwork, and the Senescence title lettering were created by Karmazid.

Carbonized will release the album on variant LP vinyl editions as well as jewel-case CD, gold cassette tape, and digital formats, and they recommend it for fans of Opeth, Gorguts, At The Gates, and ’70s prog, psych, and experimental music.

PRE-ORDER:
U.S. – https://carbonizedrecords.com/
EU – https://carbonizedrecordseu.com/
DIGITAL: https://carbonizedrecords.bandcamp.com/album/senescence

VILE RITES:
https://www.instagram.com/vile_rites
https://www.facebook.com/VileRites