SINGLE REVIEW: Vile Assembly – Globalisation
Vile Assembly have never been subtle, but with ‘Globalisation’, they’ve scrapped the traditional punk palette entirely and built something sharper, stranger, and far more volatile. It’s a searing mutation of punk, dance, and industrial grit — a ferocious lurch into the now that doesn’t just protest, it pulsates.
From the opening moments, there’s an eerie weight to the production. Synths hum with static menace, the rhythm section stomps like it’s built from concrete, and guitars jolt in and out like electrical shocks. It’s tight but chaotic, a calculated tension that never feels safe. There’s still punk blood in its veins, but it’s refracted through ravey anxiety and digital distortion — more back alley warehouse than sweat-drenched dive bar.
Vocally, this is no sloganeering rant. Instead, the delivery is sung with a hard, melodic conviction — not raw in a broken sense, but raw like a warning. The attitude’s all there: sneering, unflinching, impossible to ignore. But it's carried by actual tune — tuneful enough to stick, cutting enough to sting. The result is something that holds its shape even as it swirls with menace.
The lyrics go straight for the throat — not just calling out power, but dissecting it. Rather than drowning in despair or hiding behind metaphor, ‘Globalisation’ spells it out plainly: a world reordered for profit, not people. But it never feels like a lecture. It’s too restless, too fiery for that. This isn’t theory; it’s frustration transmuted into sound.
If this is the start of a new phase for Vile Assembly, it’s a bold one. They haven’t cleaned up — they’ve mutated. ‘Globalisation’ doesn’t just expand their sonic reach, it reloads their entire mission with a heavier payload. Still furious, still vital — but now wired straight into the system they’re here to short-circuit.
