South Carolina’s Nile are, to some, as much a fixture of the death metal scene as the more widely known ‘household names’ like Cannibal Corpse, Deicide or Obituary. But the four piece have carved out their own niche on the more ‘tech’ side of things over the last two decades. Their eighth studio album, What Should Not Be Unearthed, possesses both a metal as all fuck title and all the necessary elements that fans of both band and genre lap up by the bowlful.
‘Call To Destruction’ kicks us off with George Kollias’ massive, rolling drums. The intensity of his tom-heavy fill work and relentless, shin-destroying kicks throughout the album is pretty impressive, and you can definitely see where the deathcore generation found their inspiration. The track migrates through the classic death metal of razor-edge riffing, frantic drums and Karl Sanders’ rasping vocal delivery. The only thing absent for most of the track is the ubiquitous death metal sense of ‘groove’, which is replaced by raw, mechanical speed. The groove surfaces somewhat towards the end of the track, where things slow to a more menacing, stately tempo and a wailing, tortured guitar solo raises its head.
‘Call …’ acts as a microcosm of everything Nile are about, a crash course in technical death metal for the first time listener. The remaining nine tracks on the record don’t stray too far from this imprint, which will delight Nile/death metal purists, but perhaps alienate those looking for something more varied. ‘Negating The Abominable Coils Of Apep’ adds more groove and some dexterous descending riffs, a bend-heavy passage and some rhythmically intense palm muting. ‘In The Name Of Amun’ provides the first riff you can really get your teeth into, before breaking down into a substantial, meaty chug.
The Egyptian influences that permeate much of Nile’s back catalogue are still present. The start of ‘In The Name Of Amun’, and the brief soundscape of ‘Ushabti Reanimator’ throw in stuff like traditional Egyptian instrumentation, tinkling chimes, gongs and chanting. Lyrics like “All pyramids must be torn down” ground us firmly in the sand, but these elements are used cannily, not to the extend of being a gimmick.
Overall, this is a solid slab of technical death, competently executed and blistering paced. But here and there, it seems to drag or exhaust itself of truly outstanding moments. Perhaps ten tracks is too long, perhaps the average track length could have been shortened. Perhaps they could have ditched the sections of Sanders’ guttural, low vocals that muddy the waters without adding the roaring depth of someone like Corpsegrinder or John Gallagher. While fans will unearth and re-listen to this one, for others it might remain buried.
