VILE RITES: Senescence Cassette (Gold)

Santa Rosa, California is not a city you associate with progressive death metal, which makes Vile Rites all the more interesting. They came out of nowhere and made something genuinely difficult to categorise, and that's exactly the point.

Senescence, their 2022 record, sits in that uncomfortable space where Gorguts-style dissonance meets clean compositional ambition. Not tech-death for the sake of wankery, not atmospherics for the sake of vibes, but actual songwriting that earns every weird turn it takes. The gold shell is a nice touch for an album this uncompromising.

Gold shell cassette in clear case with 6-panel J-card. Progressive death metal, Santa Rosa, CA.

Fans of: Gorguts, Ulcerate, Yautja