Menacing, dark and eerie; all are words that jump to mind when thinking of the explosive death metal band Nile. Despite being from South Carolina, Nile has forged a distinct sound that they call “”Ithyphallic Metal,”” which is a combination of occult and pagan obsessions of the ancient Egyptian religion, along with heavy Middle Eastern music influences. The result is one of the most intriguing and distinctive sounds in modern death metal.
After forging their unique style with the groundbreaking “”Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka”” in 1998, Nile began climbing up the underground doing support work for established old-school acts like Obituary.
What followed was a tour as brutal and blistering as Nile’s unprecedented speed and power. Eighteen months on the road saw the band crossing the Atlantic to support Morbid Angel’s world tour, including the infamous Dyno festival.
Two years later brought the mind-blowing and subgenre-crossing “”Black Seeds of Vengeance,”” which, by all accounts, was a masterpiece of relentless blast beats, brutal death metal and content-spanning instrument sounds. The jaw-dropping sound of American extreme metal was seemingly fused to the dark and imagination-capturing sound of ancient Egypt. Though the second album was the next step beyond “”Nephren-Ka,”” it also signaled the full blossoming of Nile’s forward-thinking approach to death metal.
“”Black Seeds of Vengeance”” remains camped in orthodox death metal, but expands beyond the limited vision that often traps many bands. Using dynamic instruments like kettle drums, tablas, sitars, tempuras and Tibetan Doom horns, an expansive and attention-demanding release was wrought. Along with the subsequent touring and co-headlining with Cannibal Corpse, Nile managed to bring their sound to an even wider audience. Even those who don’t like grinding death metal were forced to respect the awesome might and sonic vision that is Nile.
But be forewarned: Those not familiar with death metal will easily be put off by the genre’s disregard for tone and conventional rhythm. If nothing else, just look at songs like “”Invocation of the Gate of Aat-Ankh-Es-En-Amenti”” or “”Masturbating the War God.””
Nile will bring the full venomous bite of their enchanted fury to Brick by Brick on July 18, with up-and-coming Origin opening the show.
