Nile is one of “those” bands that helped define and shape Death Metal in general, and technical Death Metal precisely. Now you see, ever since their formation, Nile have been putting out, and at a very steady rate, nothing but flesh melting riffs and face battering drumming as brutal and fast as the human mind can imagine, backed by the gruesome growls of Karl Sanders, infused with minor sounds and some oriental instruments to give the atmospheric feel of ancient times, especially from the times of the pharaohs, all of which creating a distinctive sound for the band.
But then what?… Either the band “evolves” and takes a new direction and starts giving us something mildly different or new, or just sticks to whatever made them “The” band of their time and gives fans what they loved. And Nile went for option number 2, for the past 9 albums, including their most recent release, “What Should Not Be Unearthed”.
Cover art of “What Should Not Be Unearthed
So this album is a typical old school Nile album (hooray if you’re a fan, just stop here and give it a spin, you will love it). The drums are typical George Kollias style, insanely fast double bass drum kicking with poorly recorded (or mixed/mastered) cymbals keeping the album going on the same speed and level of intensity throughout. The guitar riffs are what you would expect, nothing jaw dropping or innovative, they play really fast at this part, then they slow down to a sluggy-doomish riff. They follow that pattern on several songs to the point where you can just guess what part plays up next. And I would have discussed the bass part, but just like any other Nile recording, it’s hardly audible. I thought it would change since there is a new bassist, Brad Parris, but hardly anything can be figured out.
The lyrics are the same old Nile lyrics: ancient god, pyramid, some ancient scripture, calling for help from the underworld, and ancient curse, all being delivered in the same vocal performance, alternating between mid-pitch cookie monster and low-pitch cookie monster.
But that’s not so bad, I mean, it still delivers a daily dose of technical brutal Death Metal. For example, the opening track, Call to Destruction, is pure anger and speed, while there are tracks with really fat and sluggish riffs like Age of Famine, Evil to Cast Out Evil, and In the Name of Amun, where you can rewind and savor the bridge section.
So for me, this is an album I will play a few more times and never play again, it’s nothing to dig in, nor to feast upon, but in terms of a Nile album, it’s a pretty solid album, enjoy!
Score: 6/10
Recommended tracks: Age of Famine, To Walk Forth from Flames Unscathed.
Check out the two singles from the album below and let us know what you think.
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