Band:	Nile
Album:	Black Seeds Of Vengeance
Style:	Brutal death metal, Technical death metal
Release date:	2000
Guest review by:	Rupophobic

01. Invocation Of The Gate Of Aat-Ankh-es-en-Amenti
02. Black Seeds Of Vengeance
03. Defiling The Gates Of Ishtar
04. The Black Flame
05. Libation Unto The Shades Who Lurk In The Shadows Of The Temple Of Anhur
06. Masturbating The War God
07. Multitude Of Foes
08. Chapter For Transforming Into A Snake
09. Nas Akhu Khan She En Asbiu
10. To Dream Of Ur
11. The Nameless City Of The Accursed
12. Khetti Satha Shemsu

Originality is something the death scene largely lacks. It seems that just about every band is content to sound exactly like Morbid Angel. Luckily for us, Nile is here to change that. Now, don's get me wrong. Just like every other death metal band, they take a lot from Morbid Angel, but unlike many bands, they don's just steal old Angel riffs and redo them. Instead, they have created a sound that is essentially all their own.

If you haven's heard of Nile yet, then you must have been living in a monastery. Nile's ?Egyptian Death Metal? has been the talk of the metal world. Well, at least among death fans anyway. Black Seeds of Vengeance is Nile's second full-length album. Their first, Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka was a really good album, but they have stepped it up with Black Seeds. They got faster, more technical, more brutal and even more melodic.

The immense talent of these guys displayed on this album is undeniable. The drumming is mind-blowing, the guitars both grind and blaze with technical precision and the vocals are deep. Throw in the occasional melody, and these elements combine to form a landscape that is dark and ultra-brutal. Just the way death metal should be. Add to that the creative, and equally dark sounding Egyptian parts and atmosphere, and you have a masterpiece.

Now, to be honest, at first I hated this album. I?ve always primarily been a fan of the stuff with lots of easily accessible grooves. And while, this album is in actuality full of great headbang-able moments, they are, for the most part, a far cry from being easily accessible. I, quite frankly, couldn's see the difference between this and the sounds of a construction site. I was just about ready to sell this to a used cd store, when I decided to give it one more listen, just to make sure. That was the best decision I could have made. For whatever reason, my ears all of a sudden opened up to the sounds hidden on that little silver disk, and there has been no looking back.

Some might argue that the Egyptian thing is gimmicky, but Nile doesn's overdo it. They seem to have found that all-important equilibrium. Not to mention that the theme makes for some absolutely intriguing lyrical topics and quite possibly the best insert layout/cover art ever. The fact that they go the extra step and actually give some background information on their lyrics is a really nice touch. After all, like you?d take the time to go find out for yourself.

Now, I suppose you might want a description of the music itself. Well, this is a bit reminiscent of such bands as Krisiun and Cryptopsy, but it is really in a league of its own. You must repeatedly hear this for yourself, in order to fully grasp the musical tapestry Nile creates on Black Seeds. I would go over stand out tracks, but all thirteen songs are one, thus that would take forever. Just trust me when I say that if you don's own this, you are doing yourself an intolerable injustice.

Everything about this is perfect.