Nile - Those Whom The Gods Detest
I remember when Nile's first full-lenght 'Amongst The Catacombs Of Nephren-Ka' hit my eardrums in 1998. Death metal was reinvented. A refreshing moment. Played with such speed and brutality it couldn't possibly be managed live. When I witnessed the bands festival debut at Dynamo Open Air in 1999 the band proved me wrong. An unbeatable moment. The founder Karl Sanders' (guitar, vocals) passion for the ancient Egyptian culture has been Nile's trademark and lyrical content since the birth in 1993, accompanied with flawless, brutal, technical music. Through the years the band has developed their progressive death metal and I see 'Those Whom The Gods Detest` kind of like a best of-album, where the greatest parts are chosen to end up on this little piece of plastic. There's no never-ending instrumental passages in the songs, if I may say one negative thing about masters of extreme metal, that I became tired of in both 'Black Seeds Of Vengeance' and 'In Their Darkened Shrines'. Just plain, good songs with no filling leaving me more than satisfied. Except for 'Yezd Desert Ghul Ritual In The Abandoned Towers Of Silence', that seem pointless. Because the guys feel the need to squeeze in an instrumental. Sure, it has exotic instruments and a dismal atmosphere. But no vocals. I need the vocals. Karls low, heavy breathing and the monstrous, but clear, growls from Dallas Toler-Wade (guitar, vocals). Their guitars team up great together, with fast riffs and customary "Nile"-melodies. Behind the drums George Kollias sounds more alert then ever before, making it hard for his bandmates to keep up with the speed. The hit factor is high and the chorus of the titletrack actually reminds me of the powerful 'Black Seeds Of Vengeance', and the ending of '4:th Arra Of Dragon' is majestic. 'Those Whom The Gods Detest' is a thoroughly worked out album and as always you'll get what you expect from Nile. Returning to the way they wrote the crushing debut album, but with the technical skills of today. The best of both worlds.
1. Kafir!
2. Hittite Dung Incantation
3. Utterances of the Crawling Dead
4. Those Whom the Gods Detest
5. 4th Arra of Dagon
6. Permitting the Noble Dead to Descend to the Underworld
7. Yezd Desert Ghul Ritual in the Abandoned Towers of Silence
8. Kem Khefa Kheshef
9. The Eye of Ra
10. Iskander D'hul Karnon
Nuclear Blast Records
Reviewer: Micke
Oct 16, 2009
Oct 16, 2009
Next review:
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