### Nile: In their darkened shrines

#### 23/12/10 || InquisitorGeneralis

Yeah baby, one and only one Nile record left to be covered and it’s mine, all fucking mine! Time to shove a figurine of the Sphinx up my ass and chug some embalming fluid. We are going to party like the Middle Kingdom bitches, hoodie hoo!

But seriously, Nile is pretty awesome. It has taken me some time to come to that conclusion and by admitting this I cement that I am a total metal head who needs it faster, heavier, and more brutal to bust my musical nut. I can remember a decade ago when I had (courtesy of Napster) the song “Masterbating the war god” on my dorm PC. I used to laugh at how silly and stupid I thought it sounded. Fast forward ten years and I am front row at a Nile concert chanting to Osiris along with Karl Sanders and the Niletones. A lot can change in ten years folks. Just ask President Obama.

Oh, that was only two years. Snap. I think we should elect “Unas, slayer of the gods” as our next president. He was a Pharaoh who supposedly killed some gods in ze underworld in order to rule… or something like that. Karl Saunders obviously read this story and got a huge, ithyphallic boner over it and wrote an 11-minute long, death metal epic about the fucker. Fuck yeah, Unas in 2012 baby! Woohoo!

“In Their Darkened Shrines” falls smack dab in the middle of Nile’s discography and is the only album to feature Tony Laureano behind the drums. I am huge fan of George Kollias who came after Tony and has been Nile’s drummer ever since. However, I cannot deny that Tony absolutely tears it up on “In Their Darkened Penises”. Joining him are the previously mentioned band founder and lover of all things Egyptian Karl Sanders along with long running guitarist/vocalist Dallas Wade. This is a tight crew and they deliver the precision beating you would expect on a Nile record.

My favorite track is the slower, heavier “Sarcophagus” which is still a staple in the band’s live set. These days, I can take a song that is 99% blast beats, but I still like Nile the best when they slow things down just a bit. Fuck-hen-a if Nile released an album where all the song fell between the speed of “Sarcophagus” and “Papyrus containing…” from “Ithyphallic” it would probably be the best death metal album ever. “I whisper in the ear of the dead” also eases back on the throttle and is a nice break from the insanity.

Alas, Unas, Nile like it fast and fast is how your punk ass is going to get it. Besides the insane, precision blasting and fills you also get finger-flying riffs from Saunders and Wade. Again, for me things are best when these two focus on the heavy riffs like in the previously mentioned slower tracks. “Winds of Horus” and “Execration text” are my favorites from the album’s faster material. “Churning the maelstrom” and “Keftiu asar butchiu” are just a bit too extreme for my tastes though, they get skipped.

The album stalls at the end though. I appreciate the creativity and effort behind the four-part “In their darkened shrines” but it somewhat kills the momentum built up by the first eight songs. “The hall of Saurian entombment” is an ambient, all instrumental piece that belongs on one of Saunders’ solo records. It is kind of creepy and cool but I could do without it. It is somewhat of a momentum killer. The next two sections are typical, technical Nile assaults. Things finish up on another instrumental note with “Ruins” which features some cool guitar work but, again, is kind of a buzzkill.

A bit too much filler combined with a production below the band’s high standards keeps this out of the 8-9 range. However, “In Their Darkened Shrines” is definitely a quality slab of extreme death metal. If you are completely unfamiliar with Nile I would recommend “Annihilation of the Wicked” or the most recent “Whom the Gods Detest” as a good starting spot. Once you have trained your brain to absorb a Nile beating pick this record up. It is not Nile’s best but it features some outstanding moments and should not be entirely skipped in favor of older, more intense material or the more popular newer albums. Fuck man, “Sarcophagus” alone is worth the price of admission.

If you deny the power of Nile, or “In Their Darkened Shrines”, I will send Pharaoh Unas after your ass bitch. And unlike our current political leaders, that motherfucker can get shit done. Like kill the fucking gods done! He’s got my vote.

- Information
- Released: 2002
- Label: Relapse
- Website: www.nile-catacombs.net
- Band
- Karl Sanders: guitar, vocals, bass
- Dallas Toler Wade: guitar, vocals, bass
- Tony Laureano: drums, percussion, vocals

- Tracklist
- 01. The Blessed Dead
- 02. Execration Text
- 03. Sarcophagus
- 04. Kheftiu Asar Butchiu
- 05. Unas Slayer Of The Gods
- 06. Churning The Maelstrom
- 07. I Whisper In The Ear Of The Dead
- 08. Wind Of Horus
- 09. In Their Darkened Shrines, Part I: Hall Of Saurian Entombment
- 10. In Their Darkened Shrines, Part II: Invocation To Seditious Heresy
- 11. In Their Darkened Shrines, Part III: Destruction Of The Temple Of The Enemies Of Ra
- 12. In Their Darkened Shrines, Part IV: Ruins