VILE RITES Premieres "Senescence"

Decibel Magazine is currently streaming Senescence, the new full-length from progressive death metal trio, VILE RITES. The premiere comes in advance of the record’s official unveiling on August 16th via Carbonized Records.

VILE RITES uses a hypnotic amalgamation of aggressive riffing, swirling rhythms, wide dynamic range, and dark psychedelic ambience to take the listener on a cerebral journey into the esoteric. Drawing inspiration from events in nature, VILE RITES creates a visceral and kaleidoscopic experience that feels like wandering alone in the forest at night.

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.

Guitarist/vocalist Alex Miletich elaborates, “The definition of ‘Senescence’ is 'the gradual deterioration of functional characteristics in living organisms.' It is essentially a biological term for the process of dying. Senescence presents the idea that everything must die, and everything must suffer to live. While this idea might seem contradictory to our The Ageless EP, Senescence is very much a thematic follow-up to that. While The Ageless focused on ancient entities looking down upon the chaos of our world, Senescence IS the chaos, and presents the juxtaposition of the creatures suffering and writhing in the shadows of those entities. The final track of Senescence, ‘Banished To Solitude (Adrift On The Infinite Waves),’ is a direct continuation of the cosmic drama of celestial bodies presented in the final track of the EP, 'Spectre Of Forgotten Light,' which tells the story of the creation of the moon, and it’s desire to take vengeance upon and destroy its creator, the earth.

“Musically, we wanted Senescence to be a step up from The Ageless especially in its dynamics and experimentation. We wanted the synths and instrument effects to play a much larger role in this album and to bring the riffing further into the abstract. Since I wrote much of The Ageless before [bassist] Stephen [Coon] and [drummer] Aerin [Johnson] joined the band, we were able to incorporate more of their ideas into this album and create the songs much more organically. The three of us spent hours rearranging riffs and trying new ideas out, as well as free jamming in various mental states. With this increased level of exploration, Senescence embodies what we set out to create with our ‘psych-death’ sound.”

Adds Decibel, “Clocking in around the forty-minute mark, the songs on Senescence become progressively more ambitious the further into the album the listener goes, ending on the one-two punch of ‘Transcendent Putrefaction’ and ‘Banished To Solitude.’ While still rooted in the expected death metal, both tracks explore dynamics and incorporate softer parts that slow VILE RITES down and allow the band to revel in the atmosphere (and guitar solos) they’ve created.”