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Review: Nile - Amongst The Catacombs Of Nephren-Ka
Nile
www.nile-official.com
Amongst The Catacombs Of Nephren-Ka

Label: Relapse Records
Year released: 1998
Duration: 33:14
Tracks: 11
Genre: Death Metal

Rating:
4.5/5


Review online: September 27, 2006
Reviewed by: Lars Christiansen
Readers' Rating
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Rated 4.1/5 (82.04%) (49 Votes)
Review

It was pretty much unanimous that Nile were undeniably one of the finest bands to arrive on the death metal scene at end of the nineties, especially in terms of combining sheer clusterfuck brutality with innovation and originality. It was on this, their first album proper, that they served up their declaration of war (no doubt signed in blood on an ancient parchment...), and that the benchmark was set that all other death metal would be compared against from then on, not only in terms of brutality, but also technicality and expansion of the genre.

Nile's effective and eclectic integration of Egyptian musical styles, chants, instrumentation and overall atmospheres into a breathtakingly intense brand of death metal gave them the perfect sound to complement the lyrically violent tales of the ancient Egyptian people and the Gods that they feared. Bass heavy, crushingly fast and dynamic, it's the aural equivalent of getting the fuck smashed out of you by a 300lb heavyweight boxer – well, without all the pain and lost teeth anyway…

However, this is not a one trick pony – it's not all pedal to the metal top speed cruelty throughout. The overall sound changes from being incredibly brutal and overpowering one moment, contrasting to an almost eerily foreboding atmosphere in an instant without sounding inappropriate in context of the music, with great use of strange instruments and recording techniques to benefit the air of menacing evil (although, again as this was their debut, that side of things was kept to a minimum when compared to their later releases, where the band's true diversities came to the fore much more prominently). I wouldn't say there are necessarily any stand out tracks in particular, as I personally think this album is best taken in as a whole rather than the sum of its parts (and that's not such a hard task seeing as it only has just over half an hours running time). Nonetheless, Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka is a dead certain 'must have' addition to fill a gaping hole in anyones collection.

More about Nile...
Review: Amongst The Catacombs Of Nephren-Ka (reviewed by Sargon the Terrible)
Review: Annihilation of the Wicked (reviewed by 4th Horseman)
Review: Annihilation of the Wicked (reviewed by Sargon the Terrible)
Review: At the Gate of Sethu (reviewed by Sargon the Terrible)
Review: Black Seeds Of Vengeance (reviewed by Michel Renaud)
Review: In Their Darkened Shrines (reviewed by Scott Murray)
Review: Ithyphallic (reviewed by Sargon the Terrible)
Review: The Underworld Awaits Us All (reviewed by Sargon the Terrible)
Review: Those Whom the Gods Detest (reviewed by Hermer Arroyo)
Review: Vile Nilotic Rites (reviewed by Sargon the Terrible)
Review: What Should Not Be Unearthed (reviewed by Sargon the Terrible)
Review: Worship the Animal - 1994: The Lost Recordings (reviewed by Michel Renaud)
Interview with Dallas Toler-Wade (Guitars, vocals) on October 17, 2009 (Interviewed by Sargon the Terrible)
Interview with guitarist and vocalist Dallas Toler-Wade on April 27, 2016 (Interviewed by Luxi Lahtinen)
Interview with guitarist and vocalist Karl Sanders on May 4, 2023 (Interviewed by Luxi Lahtinen)
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