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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nile: The Saviors of Death Metal!, May 5, 2005
Absolutely stunning release by the saviors of death metal! Right when death metal was starting to get boring, Nile roared onto the scene and presented us with a brutal intensity unrivaled since Suffocation's debut. A refreshing blast of brutal death in an era when most death metallers are going the route of the melodic Gothenburg sound (now don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Dark Tranquility, (old) In Flames, and newer Arch Enemy, but like some Brutal Death every now and then.) Extremely fast, technical and intelligent, the music is also epic and very original. Highly recommended. Also of note are the lyrics. Not the boring, mindless gore-obsessed lyrics of bands like Cannibal Corpse and Six Feet Under, but based on mythology. Nile are far from being the first death metal band to use mythology as a bases for their lyrics, but they chose the mythology of Egypt whilst everyone else chose Norse mythos. Interesting and inventive. I am of the firm opinion that Nile is one of the greatest brutal death metal bands on the scene today! I cannot wait to get the new release "Annihilation of the Wicked" due out at the end of May! Stunning! Also get the cds: "Black Seeds of Vengeance" and "In their Darkened Shrines" and check out "Demigod" by the band Behemoth, which used to be a good black metal band, but is now an awesome brutal death metal band!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brutality and balance... worth buying, January 9, 2003
This release hinges more on a Morbid Angel influence than say a Napalm Death influence (more slayer roots than punk). The riffs are mostly blazing, the best ones however are the relatively 'slower' ones. On a first listen it is almost a dismissable album.. do not be fooled, this is worth a 4th and 5th listen. The gem of the album is the industrial type focus sprinkled throughout. The keyboards sound like old The Gathering material which is very interesting blended with the hyper drumming and ultra fast riffs.
The soloing is very derivative of Trey Azagoth (Morbid Angel) which at times totally misses the mark (50% of the time in my opinon, other than that there are some really nice solos that suit the songs).
The riffs lend themselves to an egyptian sound (a nice unique twist) but at the same time fall into the "being as evil as we can be" trap at times.
Those are my only complaints. I LOVE the vocal variance, for 3 guys it is amazing, you get guttural lows like Carcass and high pitch material like John Tardy (Obituary) and Carcass' high end stuff. They like to keep you guessing (like Cephalic Carnage.. not as hectic as that though).
They have classic sounding metal riffs mixed with brutal death blur fests. The real keeper is the song "Die Rache..." which is chanting etc. They really have a nice balance of speed here. Where as an album like Napalm Death's "Enemies of the Music Business" blungeons you completely this one lets you up for air a few times... and it is enjoyable as such without letting up on the heaviness of the album. Nice production, great vocals, nice packaging as well. A good CD to own if you are into the genre.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More Brutal Than Black Seeds, September 27, 2002
While Nile's recent album "Black Seeds of Vengence" helped set a new benchmark for the majority of death metal acts already out there, it cannot be denied that "Amongst The Catacombs..." is a much more brutal release. The effects and samples added in BSoV helped steep the album in more atmosphere and mood, but ATCoN maintained the extreme brutality expected of today's high caliber death metal. With this particular release, Nile managed to superbly execute in every aspect their ability to play lightning fast with awesome technicality as well as hard hitting vocals worthy of any death metal fan's attention. Songs like "Howling of the Jinn" are some of the most brutal and fast that I've heard in recent times, not to mention that, if I was forced to pick Nile's best song to date (excluding their newest release "In Their Darkened Shrines since I haven't had the pleasure of hearing it yet...), it would by far have to be "Ramses Bringer of War" because not only does the song have a great death march feel in the intro and lots of mood, it absolutely rips throughout the entire song. "Ramses Bringer of War" combines pretty much all the best elements of Nile's songwriting into one piece, whereas the majority in BSoV the highlights of Nile's style and songwriting is more spread out in pieces among the songs there (this isn't necessarily a bad thing, there just truly isn't one particular song that showcases all aspects of the band). While songs like "Masturbating the War God" off of BSoV are one of the best songs released to date, the entire album ATCoN is a force to be reckoned with. ATCoN plays up their ability to deliver some of the best, most brutal stuff in the scene right now. While "Black Seeds of Vengence" must be appreciated for its atmosphere and showcase songs such as "Masturbating the War God", "Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka" will remain the superior album in terms of sheer brutality and speed throughout the entire disc.
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