Black Seeds of Vengeance

Nile

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 5, 2000)
• Original Release Date: September 5, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Relapse
• ASIN: B00004WK2G
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,111 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Death metal brilliance, near perfection, November 6, 2002

By	Wheelchair Assassin (The Great Concavity) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

In some ways Nile are much like the typical death metal band. "Black Seeds of Vengeance" contains more than enough searing guitar work, guttural vocals, and blastbeat drumming to please any Cannibal Corpse or Morbid Angel fan. However, Nile have a unique idea that sets them apart from the pack. They combine their prototypical death metal with Egyptian/Middle Eastern elements that make this album a truly dark and eerie piece of music. It's obvious pretty early that this is more than just a death-metal album. The title track blasts forward with unbridled speed and intensity, driven by Pete Hammoura's amazing precision and variety on the drum kit. The following song, "Defiling the Gates of Ishtar," starts off similarly, but then suddenly breaks into some eerie and frightening choral chanting before getting heavy again. Another highlight is "Masturbating the War God," a slow, grinding basher that also includes some choral vocals towards the end. Probably the best song here, though, is the epic "To Dream of Ur." The song starts out with some creepy music and slow, tortured whisphering, then switches to brusing death metal, then switches back, and then back again. I know that's not much of a description, but suffice to say the song rules. And if that's not enough, "Libation Unto the Shades Who Lurk in the Shadows of the Temple of Anhur" and "The Nameless City of the Accursed" are excellent Egyptian-sounding interludes that add to the haunting atmosphere of the album without being self-indulgent. The musicianship is excellent throughout, and the lyrics are far smarter and more meaningful than the typical death metal fare, so be sure to read them (every song is explained in the liner notes too, which is cool). Now to get their other albums!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect soundtrack to nightmares, January 13, 2004

By	"theeighthgate" (Denmark) - See all my reviews

I like to play excerpts from this album to music ignorants to let them know what they are missing in their soundscape. I like the look of genuine fear in their faces when the death chants transform into death metal. I like to tell them that the song is about impaling women on the massive stone member of father Anhur, the war god.
Many find this very scary and upsetting. I like that.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning and intelligent, July 13, 2002

By	Flunk "a_dg" (Longmont, CO United States) - See all my reviews

Ok, I admit. I Napster'd this album way back when, and put off actually buying it. Once I finally got the CD, I was very glad I did. Reading the liner notes and the explanation of the meaning of each song was worth more than the cost of the CD. My respect for Nile has doubled having read about their lyrical content.

They put such an intelligent and unique spin on the "evil" death metal routine. Once you know what the songs are about, you will never hear their music in quite the same way. The blast beats sound more punishing, the guitars more desperate for revenge, the vocals more brutal.

Their songs are each pieces of a narrative. They seem to be using the Egyptian motif to explore their own interests in history, but there also seems to be an underlying message of the futility and destructive nature of religion, humanity's endless quest for immortality, sexuality as a weapon, and the costly price paid for one's own arrogance, hatred for others, revenge, etc.

The standout piece is by far Masturbating the War God. Several of the songs have lyrics that were translated more or less directly from Egyptian manuscripts, this is one of them. The lyrics are utterly haunting, you just have to read about it to believe it.

Enjoy!