Review Summary: He smiteth the defeated with his mace.
By now, death metal overlords Nile have no obligation to do anything in order to prove their mettle anymore. Having established themselves as a household name in the scene for the last two and a half decades, the band has on its belt a series of back to back classics from the impressive debut
Among the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka in 1998, to the exceptional, unforgettable third album
Annihilation of the Wicked in 2005, arguably their unsurpassed peak to this day. With the exception of
For Whom the Gods Detest released in 2009, the following years were not that gracious to them but there’s never been a weak, or even an average Nile album, despite some works sometimes clearly falling short compared to the band’s beginnings.
While revolutionizing the technical / brutal death metal edifice with their own blend of blistering, complex and astonishingly heavy compositional style, they have more or less maintained that certain sound all along after all these years, and it’s the same case for
The Underworld Awaits Us All, their now tenth full length album. Needless to say that the band still unapologetically embraces its thematic obsessions, which always revolve around ancient Egyptian lore, yet you shouldn’t expect an encyclopedia of knowledge, but rather a trip down history’s darker corners through the lens of an extreme metal band, much like an inspired, inventive movie director who would pick such topics. Once again produced by Karl Sanders himself, the mixing / mastering was done by Mark Lewis as in
Vile Nilotic Rites, yet the sound this time is slightly filthier and slightly less loud, both positive aspects for a modern production.
With
The Underworld Awaits Us All, Nile don’t push the envelope by any means but instead just perform as they know, and with the necessary ferociousness that is guaranteed under their stamp of authenticity. For most of the time, the band unleashes frenetic guitar lines and soloing in perplexed signatures, keeping high speeds and tense instrumentation at the forefront. For example, “To Strike with Secret Fang” is a two minute demolisher of a track (as brutal as they can get really) and the opener “Stelae of Vultures” is a masterclass of this sound, one of the tightest pieces they have composed during the last decade. Furthermore, the down-tuned, grotesque notes of “Overlords of the Black Earth”, as well as the middle-paced section that crawls through in between its more direct, pummeling parts, makes it the absolute highlight in the album.
When looking at the tracklist, the mere mention of Nephren-Ka (a reference to The Black Pharaoh by H.P. Lovecraft) might bring a cold chill down the listener’s spine after bringing the band's debut release in mind but unfortunately those glorious days are gone, and in this album the related track is just an one-minute instrumental with an Eastern flair. Additions like these, also present towards the end of “Under the Curse of the One God”, are more than welcome in a Nile record, and the band has extensively used them before. They have also never been afraid to adopt ridiculously long song titles, as it is with the second track “Chapter for Not Being Hung…”, clearly taken from the Egyptian Book of the Dead and another one of the album’s highlights. With three of the five members as well as additional singers contributing to it, the vocal work of the record has a wide variety, even though in secret, I always ache for that legendary deep growling more than anything else. George Kollias’ stellar performance behind the kit solely elevates the compositions, and having one of the best extreme metal drummers in your arsenal, is definitely one of Nile’s strongest assets.
Nevertheless, it feels like the band opts for its more hard hitting compositions to open the album, and then follow on more adventurous directions towards its closing. From “Doctrine of Last Things”, things overly slow down and the momentum dissipates, almost as if Nile intended for this to be a two-side record with each side having distinct differences in content. The two longest tunes “True Gods of the Desert” and the self-titled track clearly indicate this, and while the intention is appreciated, in my opinion it doesn’t fit this band at all to water its material down to this kind of palatable grooving and underwhelming riffing. Even if it has an awesome title, the final “Lament for the Destruction of Time” is almost skippable for the same reason, resulting in an uneven quality between the former and the latter part of the record.
Nile won't achieve heights of the past, but the quality of these musicians and their unique approach to death metal makes every release a must.
The Underworld Awaits Us All will grow on me enough to decently enjoy it in the future. It feels like a step up compared to their last 2 - 3 full length releases, but it would score higher if it were maybe ten minutes shorter, and without the redundant meandering in its final tracks. All things considered, there's several bangers in here for the fans to feast on and there's plenty more to enjoy in the album's lyrics and story telling. The standard is above average for this band, so don't hesitate to engage.
