Album Review – Vile Species / Disqualified As a Human (2024)

Get ready to be pulverized by 20 minutes of first-class Grindcore made in Greece not recommended for the lighthearted.

Formed in late 2019 in Athens, Greece, the ruthless Grindcore brigade known as Vile Species has just unleashed upon us all their pulverizing new album, titled Disqualified As A Human, the follow-up to their 2022 opus Against the Values of Civilization. Recorded, mixed and mastered by David Prudent at Made in Hell Studio, and displaying a stylish artwork by Giannis Nakos of Art Remedy Design (Suffocation, Vomitory, and many more), the new beast by Sotiris on vocals, Mat on the guitar, Chris on bass and vocals, and Michalis on drums offers our avid ears 20 minutes of first-class Grindcore not recommended for the lighthearted, in special the ones who should not be qualified as humans as the title of the album already states.

The album begins in full force with the title-track Disqualified As a Human, a lesson in Grindcore led by the brutally furious beats by Michalis, followed by Once a Body, Now a Corpse, another blast of sheer violence where Sotiris barks like a demonic creature for our total delight, whereas Those Who Act Violent is also as putrid and demented as it can be, keeping their animosity flowing strong. In Αγκυλωτός Σκοταδισμός, which means “hooked obscuration” in Greek, the visceral riffs by Mat sound utterly insane; and Mat and Chris show no mercy for their axes in Self Inflicted Mind Imprisonment, proving Greek Grindcore is perfect for some brutal slamming. There’s no sign of those guys slowing down, as it’s absolute madness blasted by the quartet in Preaching Hatred – Side Casualties, and by now I guess you know Injected With Apathy is going to be another round of Grindcore insanity made in Greece, while hammering drums and caustic riffs set the tone in the fulminating Plebs in Despair.

Battering Scum is by far one of the most demented songs of the album, if that’s humanly possible, with Sotiris roaring manically nonstop. Then Michalis sounds like a demolishing machine in Predetermined Decadence Pt.3, whereas in The Sound they let their Brutal Death Metal vein arise to the deep gnarling by Sotiris. The Invisible Ones offers us all a massive wall of insanity, violence and obscurity blasted by the band in the name of our good old Grindcore, followed by The Cradle Has Fallen, again injecting the aggression and heaviness of Death Metal into their sound, with Michalis once again taking the lead behind his drums. And continuing their path of savagery in the form of Grindcore we have A Cross Up the Ass = God As a Weapon, before all comes to an end in Sverkoma, offering a little over a minute of the carnivorous riffs by Mat while Chris pounds his bass ruthlessly until the very end.

This precious gem of the Greek Grindcore scene is available in full on YouTube, but of course you can purchase the album on BandCamp, or grab a vinyl copy of it from countless places as this is a co-release between EveryDayHealth, Gore Kitty Records, Helldog Records, Nihilocus Records, Nothing to Harvest, Nostril Bush and Throne of Lies Records, and there’s also a CD and tape release in the horizon. You can also find the band on Facebook and on Instagram, keeping up to date with all things Vile Species, and keeping more than pumped for some quality time inside the circle pit together with this amazing Greek band armed with their ruthless new album.

Best moments of the album: Disqualified As a Human, Once a Body, Now a Corpse, Battering Scum and The Cradle Has Fallen.

Worst moments of the album: Preaching Hatred and A Cross Up the Ass = God As a Weapon.

Released in 2024 Independent

Track listing
1. Disqualified As a Human 1:47
2. Once a Body, Now a Corpse 1:24
3. Those Who Act Violent 0:54
4. Αγκυλωτός Σκοταδισμός 1:25
5. Self Inflicted Mind Imprisonment 1:12
6. Preaching Hatred – Side Casualties 1:24
7. Injected With Apathy 1:08
8. Plebs in Despair 1:16
9. Battering Scum 1:37
10. Predetermined Decadence Pt.3 1:04
11. The Sound 1:33
12. The Invisible Ones 1:32
13. The Cradle Has Fallen 1:52
14. A Cross Up the Ass = God As a Weapon 1:18
15. Sverkoma 1:16

Band members
Sotiris – vocals
Mat – guitar
Chris – bass, vocals
Michalis – drums