Vile is the fifth studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse. It was released in 1996 through Metal Blade Records. The album marks the last album featuring guitarist Rob Barrett until 2006's Kill. It was also the last Cannibal Corpse album to feature Scott Burns as producer. This album also marks the first time the band ever tuned down, from previously playing in D# Standard to A# Standard, although a few of the songs on Vile are in C# Standard. The album was re-released in 2006 with new liner notes and a bonus DVD featuring a full concert from the Vile tour, during which many songs from the album are performed. Vile was the first death metal album to appear on the Billboard 200 chart, debuting at No.151.
Background
Vile was originally titled Created to Kill and had partially been completed with Chris Barnes on vocals. Before the album was released, Barnes was dismissed from the band, which then brought in Monstrosity vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher to finish the album's vocal work. Fisher re-recorded Barnes's vocal tracks and the band released the album under the new title Vile. Vile also features a brand new band logo since the previous logo had been drawn by the departing Chris Barnes. During the Vile sessions, "The Undead Will Feast" from Eaten Back to Life was re-recorded with Fisher on vocals. This version of the song would first appear as the only bonus track on a Japanese import edition of Vile and then on the Worm Infested EP in 2003.
Reception
"Fisher brought a vocal dynamism and character that livened up the band's six-year-old sound. Fisher's ability to match the musical intensity and rhythm of Vile's more complicated assemblages of riffs created a more sophisticated yet equally tortuous essence." "Tracks like 'Devoured by Vermin' and 'Bloodlands' feature more complex, focused, and just plain interesting musical ideas as well as precise execution. Fans of death metal who haven't yet discovered Cannibal Corpse would be wise to give Vile an open-minded listen".
Several of the songs from the finished album were written while Barnes was still in the band, and were recorded in demo form with his vocals. These tracks were collected for disc 3 of the 15 Year Killing Spree box set. They are:
