Nile, a death metal band from Greenville, South Carolina, went on tour this week to promote it's new album. Those Whom the Gods Detest, Nile's most recent album, was released in Fall 2009 and has gotten excellent reviews from various music publications. As a new owner of Nile's latest album, I agree with the reviews that Those Whom the Gods Detest has received. I've been listening to metal for a decade and Nile never ceases to amaze me with the technicality of the music and the originality and scope of the lyrics.
One of the reasons I have gotten bored with death metal is that a lot of the bands in the scene have become cliche and because they rely too much on shock value. On the other hand, Nile's lyrics are inspired by Egyptian history and mythology. All of the history and mythology is researched in painstaking detail and is explained copiously in the liner notes. In my opinion, the liner notes with the background information on the music is worth the price one pays for the album. This alone makes Nile a band that one cannot just buy on itunes or download from bit torrents. I have no idea what to say when I think to myself and realize that I learned more about Ancient Egypt from a death metal band than my World History class in 10th grade.
An Egyptian sound is also incorporated into Niles sound. Like most metal guitarists, Karl Sanders, Nile's lead guitarists, belts out a maelstrom of rapid-fire, down-tuned guitar riffs and shredding guitar solos. But Karl Sanders also utilizes Egyptian sounding guitar scales to give the band a definitive sound. Also there are many instrumental tracks that feature no modern instruments but instead middle eastern instruments.
Nile will be coming to the Masquerade in Atlanta on February 17th. I have seen Nile twice (once in February 2006 and another time in March 2008). Each time I was them was impressed. I can count on being impressed again in February.
