Vile Species – Disqualified As a Human

Greece has a long-standing and respected DIY grindcore tradition, stretching back to the late ’80s with acts like Industrial Suicide, whose influence can still be felt in today’s scene. That same lineage continues through bands like Cut Your Throat, Terrorismo Musical, Slaughtergrave/Slaktgrav, Raw Noise Apes, Noma, Anomaloi Xaikaloides, and of course, Vile Species. This Athens band has been one of the torchbearers of the genre for a few years now. With their uncompromising sound and politically charged, anti-authoritarian message, they’ve built a name for themselves playing across Europe and releasing splits with contemporary bands like Civilian Thrower, Razgruha, and Human Obliteration, all of whom share their political and DIY ethos.

Following their brutal debut LP, Against the Values of Civilization, the band’s second full-length album, Disqualified as a Human, continues their journey into the septic depths of raw, old-school grindcore, demonstrating notable musical growth. That’s best exemplified by the more delicate compositional decisions across the fifteen songs that run you over like a speed train. The recording, mixing, and mastering was handled by David Prudent at Made in Hell Studio, and his work adds greatly to the group’s bigger, clearer sound without compromising a single iota of Vile Species’ original old-school approach.

The album starts with the feral title track (a nod to Osamu Dazai’s novel No Longer Human), and we’re immediately immersed in the vicious sonic environment that the band have carefully constructed. Sotiris’s vocals sound absolutely berserk and reach unimaginable levels of brutality, with his devilish shrieks and occasional low growls, further complemented by bassist Chris’s backing vocals. The guitar work is a vortex of incessant grinding annihilation, with frequent catchy crust-thrash riffs that keep you hooked. There’s a tangible difference from their earlier material, which had rawer production and muddier guitars. Here, Mat is at his absolute apogee as a guitarist, showing off lightning-fast riffing and a clearly more exquisite approach to composition. The well-thought-out tempo changes, the slower moments, and the overall grooviness in his playing really stand out. The rhythm section is simply exceptional. Chris and George manage to keep up with the relentless speed and frequent discordant shifts effortlessly, complementing each other at every turn. The buzzsaw tone of the bass is absolutely perfect for this kind of grindcore and sounds spectacular in the mix. George’s drumming is a crash course for any aspiring grind drummer, seamlessly shifting between tempos with savage blastbeats and sporadic but violent d-beat assaults.

Vile Species have achieved a seemingly perfect musical synergy, and that energy results in what I’d call a modern grindcore classic, which stays true to the anti-capitalist DIY spirit that keeps bands like this alive. Reminiscent of canonical bands like Assück, Warsore, Catheter, Brutal Truth, and even some death metal like Dismember or Autopsy, Vile Species take those influences and molds them into a sound that is unmistakably their own. Continuing their anti-civilizational, insurrectionist lyrical themes, the band is even more vehemently nihilist and anti-human here. The lyrics tackle subjects like systemic inequality in the hellish postmodern landscape of endless distractions that divide us and keep us fighting among ourselves. Racism, sexism, and faux-left/identity politics are all targeted, while the band takes a firm, radical stance against anyone who spreads far-right ideology and macho bigotry. Their lyrics reject religious dogma, post-industrial capitalism, and the surveillance state we live in. It’s a worldview soaked in despair, but it’s also a call to arms. Through insurrection and subversion, the band argues, we can confront and dismantle the systems of control that bind us. It’s a bleak vision, but one that offers a flicker of hope for those willing to fight back.

This is a record that grind freaks will devour. Vile Species channel the spirit of the classics while forging a sound that feels more vital than ever. Support them through their Bandcamp and grab a copy in your preferred format. If you’re lucky enough to catch them live, especially in some anarchist social center or some crusty DIY venue, don’t miss it. They’re one of the most feral and intense live bands I’ve ever witnessed.