If you have nostalgia for progressive deathcore from the late 00s-early ‘10s, we have just the album premiere for you. Viile is a new project from the mind of John Galloway, who is responsible for all the compositions and majority of the vocals here. Some may remember him for his short stint as Rings of Saturn's vocalist (2011-2012), his older project and 2014 release under the moniker Xehanort (filling the hyper-niche of Kingdom Hearts themed progressive deathcore), or even his superb black metal Northlane vocalist audition. A Bottomless Curse, A Bottomless Sea feels like a natural evolution from Xehanort, while also being a love letter of sorts to his primary influences of The Contortionist’s Exoplanet, and BTBAM’s Colors. Not a bad choice of two album's to draw from. And while you can certainly hear them seeping into his sound, Viile contains enough of its own identity and presence to feel like a fresh modern metal album.
I will note that while most of the instruments here are programmed, the production in conjunction with the vocals, and recorded guitar leads from Aynsley Giunta allow it to still feel like a raw, living piece of music. It’s generally on par with most deathcore and djent production if you’re comfortable with that. The leads are bright and crisp, the occasional programmed symphonic elements aren't overbearing, and the breakdowns channel some of that Humanity’s Last Breath catastrophic seismic activity in its tone.
Lyrically and thematically, Viile has left Kingdom Hearts behind in place of a new video game, Bloodborne, as well as the anime "Made in Abyss." John crafts a conceptual story again through his lyricism, set between the worlds and themes crafted by these two influences. Similar to Exoplanet and Slice the Cake’s Odyssey to the West (RIP), this sort of narrative storytelling through progressive, dynamic songwriting flavoured with the crushing dramatic heaviness of deathcore just works in a unique way. It lets vocalists like John really shine and show off their range of shrieks and gutturals to almost theatrical effect, while clean singing and a couple of guest vocalists contrast and sway with the melodic and ambient passages instrumentally. The end result is an album that is both grand, and bleak. Elegant, and stupidly heavy.
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