Our favorite tech metal giants Nile are back with a new album and it is gloriously good in every way possible. Without getting into any sort of long winded story, here’s what we thought when we heard the new tracks on offer ahead of it’s release this November.
Nile is a band I picked up on quite early via the first release “Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka” 20 years ago. Back then tech-death wasn’t even on my radar but these guys helped changed the landscape of the extreme metal genres, it was also my gateway to everything extreme including the spotty death metal genre that I always struggled with consistency. Sure there were the Cannibal Corpses and Obituary’s of the world but Nile was a whole other ball game. The title of that debut album alone was intriguing enough but getting into the music which at first was abrasive enough, down to the vicious vocals which the band brilliantly utilise as another instrument rather than a basis point for the riffs to drive around was a game changer in and of itself for those that couldn’t quite make the leap from thrash and traditional metal to this brutal form of music.
20 years later and the band have in some ways come full circle with “Vile Nilotic Rites“. A few changes, different members and an evolving sound that eventually strayed away from the original sound of the band saw my interest in the band slightly detour and comb through the genres for a suitable replacement. But no other band had what Nile has, they have their own sound and the sheer complexity combined with mighty grooves and a ferociousness that’s second to none is hard to come by, at least in the way Nile does it. With this new album, the band appear to return to their roots where that idea found on their early albums can be heard once again. It was definitely a surprise to me and something I immediately noticed as the opening track “Long Shadows Of Dread” kicked off the album.
The ridiculousness of it all has become their trademark, the over the top playing and complexity of the songs together with insane titles like the second track “Oxford Handbook Of Savage Genocidal Warfare” would be laughable had it actually not worked, but it does. Nile are so damn good at what they do, it’s hard to not appreciate the amount of work it must take to not just come up with a song like this where stops and starts become hazardous and gear changes occur more often than a Formula 1 race but an entire album that all differentiate from each other. Non-fans of this type of music may not see it but there’s a ton of dynamics happening in a band like Nile.
One of the highlights on this album is the cinematic-like “Seven Horns Of War“, a juggernaut of brutality showcased with speeds of furor and dark atmosphere that tackles it’s Egyptian Mythology head on like never before. That ancient theme is another signature of the band of course and can be found on virtually every album released but here it does have that tip of the hat to how they originally mixed this idea into their music on those first few albums. It sounds brilliantly evil.
“Snake Pit Mating Frenzy” is another winner as they all appear to be really but this one has a bit of old school death metal flavour to it, stripping things down to the bare essentials as it’s stupidly aggressive nature rips things apart quickly, ending way too short for our liking. “Revel In Their Suffering” is another hook-driven number with plenty of grooves, another reminder that Nile know how to combine the technicality of the music with something that is tangible to the average ear. The most challenging track here though is “The Imperishable Stars Are Sickened” where a lot is happening all at once with numerous tempo changes and a lot of different sounds filling the background. It may take a few listens to latch onto it but it’s well worth it.
Nile seem to have outdone themselves with “Vile Nilotic Rites“, it’s a return to form for lack of a better description especially if you consider those early albums their best songs.
9/10
TRACKLIST
Long Shadows Of Dread
Oxford Handbook Of Savage Genocidal Warfare
Vile Nilotic Rites
Seven Horns Of War
That Which Is Forbidden
Snake Pit Mating Frenzy
Revel In Their Suffering
Thus Sayeth The Parasites Of The Mind
Where Is The Wrathful Sky
The Imperishable Stars Are Sickened
We Are Cursed
