Fresh off the release of their grinding debut full length album “Against the Values of Civilization“, Athens, Greece based VILE SPECIES join us for a special track by track rundown and their picks of best records of the year!
As the band agrees, “Against the Values of Civilization” may sound a little bit harsh for an album title, but it is not far from their honest feelings and also the truth.
“We fully and wholeheartedly disapprove of the social and political scenery in the modern world – war, famine, poverty, fascism – and of the total disregard of our surroundings such as animals and nature.”
Framed with a great artwork by Ivan (Lethargos), VILE SPECIES flood our ears with an overwhelming rush of violence and grim atmospherics aptly fitting the lyrical content embedded in the lyrics.
“The cover art is influenced both from the musical context and intensity as well as the lyrical themes, showcasing the inner beast that grows and occupies our inner being after witnessing life and humanity at its worst.” – comments Ivan.
“It’s the beast that feeds of our experiences every day, killing the purity we were born with and taking it’s place as a default emotion on every situation. After a lifetime of pure shit, all there’s left to be is an abomination of a self masqueraded as a human walking among you”.
Before we dove into each and every track from “Against the Values of Civilization”, we asked the band to give us their top Greek extreme metal bands worth a good listen, as well as their 5 selections for best records of the year! Check out their picks below.
Greek extreme bands worth checking out in 2022:
Kvadrat, Abyssus, Συντρίμμια (Syntrimmia), Incineration, Mortal Torment, Olajuwon
Albums of the year, by VILE SPECIES:
Whoresnation – Dearth
Suffering Mind – Lifeless
Abyssus – Death Revival
Innumerable Forms – Philosophical Collapse
Shitgrinder – S/T
“Against the Values of Civilization” Track by track commentary:
1. Go Extinct, Now!
This song is about our inability to coexist in peace as a species and that will be the cause of our inevitable end.
2. Image Infection
This one is about commercialization of music and the lack of artistry in it. By that we mean the squashing of the new and underground bands by major labels, that promote talentless “names”.
3. Serving Mockery
it is about the major corporations that try to capitalize on diversity and the struggling minorities in society.
4. Dystopian Victoria
The title for this track was chosen one day when we were
passing from a train station here in Athens called Victoria where the living situation
is really bad. We had a rehearsal in a different place and although there was not
a very huge distant between the area that the studio was and the station you could really
feel the transition from civilization to total dystopia
5. The Lowest Prevail
Generally talks about how vulgar humans can get and how low they can sink to satisfy their needs.
6. Dying to Escape
This one is about the state of poverty that most people are born in and are unable to escape from. And how big companies and governments are extracting the life out of the poor population giving almost nothing in return.
7. Crisis is for the poor
As the title says the world economic crisis and the inflation that we are going through the last 3 years affect only
the poor , while you see how many people profited from the pandemic and are profiting from inflation and the energy crisis of course. Giving us fake promises making us wait all the time for the next crisis while we still haven’t recovered from the previous one.
8. Predetermined Decadence Pt 2
A reminder that our decadence has already started.
9. Life Expired
A song for the tired souls of people that most of them live empty lives, already dead inside.
10. Justified Hatred
This one is about the ghost of rascism that never truly dies. It still exists and we cannot hide our disgust and hatred towards people who reproduce it.
11. Stay Asleep
This track speaks about the government’s gag on people and the “legal” way they cut our freedoms.
12. Hidden Slavocracy
We are slaves of the modern world but it’s okay because they give us the internet and other shit to distract us from it.
13. New World Murders
It’s about the betraying and disloyal nature of humans and the power that the military have because of owning
weapons serving as tools for politicians and world leaders waging wars and killing the helpless for profit.
14. Haunting the rotten streets
This one is about the streets of Athens.
15. Figures of Fraud
Here we are referring to some people that hide behind nobel ideals and solidarity, their ill will and those who like to play with words…words that don’t match with their actions.Taking advantage of people, situations, while being totally hypocritical.
