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Nile: Annihilation of the wicked

03/06/11 || InquisitorGeneralis

In the beginning, when the Benben emerged from the primordial waters of the Nu, a great creator begin his work. Karl Saunders, servant of Amun, created his war band Nile to spread the word of the gods throughout the heathen world that had become dominated by the fools who worshipped the false “one god”. Nile’s first cd’s were raw, brutal and gained a large following amongst the heretical cults who listened to the forbidden tunes of “death metal”. However, at the mid-point of their career, they changed course a bit and offered a more polished, streamlined brand of brutal, technical metal to the thirsting gods of the Old Kingdom. Their early work had made them icons to thousands of slobbering, metal sycophants across the globe.

But Karl wanted more; he wanted to spread the light of Ra to all who would bow before the Falcon-headed god. He recruited George Kolias, former follower of the Pantheon, to play his war drums. Combining Kolias with long-running fellow guitarist Dallas Toller-Wade and bassist Joe Vesano produced a magical union of brutal, technical death metal awesomeness. Nile’s 2005 release “Annihilation of the Wicked” would be the band’s crowning achievement in terms of sound, style, and content. Only the writings of H.P. Lovecraft are worthy to be merged with the sacred stories of Osiris. For sound, brutality, and, and sheer awesomeness; “Annihilation of the Wicked” is most pleasing to ancient gods.

The ambient, haunting “Dusk falls…” is all too brief before the savage assault that is “Cast down the heretic”. Ra has proclaimed this blast fest and its chanting ending to be a staple of all live Nile ceremonies. “Lashed to the slave stick” has also received this honor from the falcon god, and always reduces a crowd of Nile maniacs to a moshing mass of meat, hair, and spilled beer. The groovy beginning gives ancient mummies linen-wrapped boners and the lyrics teem with the suffering of Hebrew slaves. While the masses hunger for violence and speed, it is the groovier tracks that truly please the gods. The title track is eight minutes of pure bliss. So is the happily titled “Von unaussprechlichen kulten”, which also brings the slower (for Nile that is) goodness that any sun god or ancient, zombie sea-creature would find pleasing.

Great guitar work, insane drumming, clear and heavy production; all of these please the gods. While other heretics and apostates claim earlier Nile albums to be the best, I firmly believe in the supremacy and immortality of “Annihilation of the Wicked”. It has the best grooves and most memorable songs in the band’s catalogue, in the humble opinion of me. If only Vesano had stayed in the flock, who knows how mighty the blood red waters of the Nile would be. Still, the two records after this one are pretty solid. Nekhbet and Wadjet agree with me though, this is where Nile secured a firm place in the eternity of the underworld…of metal.

8,5

Information
Releaserd: 2005
Label: Relapse Records
Website: www.nile-catacombs.net
Band
Karl Sanders: guitars, vocals, baglama saz, keyboards
Dallas Toler-Wade: guitars, vocals
Jon Vesano: bass, vocals
George Kollias: drums

Tracklist
01. Dusk Falls Upon The Temple Of The Serpent On The Mount Of Sunrise
02. Cast Down The Heretic
03. Sacrifice Unto Sebek
04. User-Maat-Re
05. The Burning Pits Of The Duat
06. Chapter Of Obeisance Before Giving Breath To The Inert One In The Presence Of The Crescent Shaped Horns
07. Lashed To The Slave Stick
08. Spawn Of Uamenti
09. Annihilation Of The Wicked
10. Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten

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