The Underworld Awaits Us All starts off with very heavy doom riffs, followed by amazingly fast drum salvos and very well-done vocal interplay by a double vocal combo (with deep grunts and guttural growls). Technical and savage, exactly what we know Nile to be. They occasionally experiment with atypical, freshly sounding frivolous choices, there even is a short heavy metal riff present. It keeps you on edge, but the band quickly returns to the over-the-top virtuoso and lightning-fast leads and solos in a style that is undeniably Nile’s. The vocals are very prominent in the mix, and they add to the brutality of the album.
The scream-along-ability is less present than on, say, Those Whom the Gods Detest and you will hear a lot more chaos in every part of the music. This prevents you from getting a grip on the music. It is clear that metal is at the forefront of setting the atmosphere, because there is literally no Egyptian motif to be found. Kollias’ drums bang loudly, and they fill the moments of silence left by the guitars, even if such moments are rare because this song is otherwise filled to the brim with sound. You will get a face full of fast-paced brutal death metal with some diversions along the way. Overwhelming brutality is at the forefront of this track, and it is a very solid and intense opener, even if it is one where you can’t quite get a grip on the music.
You may have noticed that I made the conscious decision to not give Nile’s newest album a proper introduction. Be honest with yourself, does Nile need an introduction? Nile is an icon and a pillar of the American metal-underground temple. The heaviest band from the new world (and the rest of the planet) turned thirty years old last year and showed us Vile Nilotic Rites in 2019 which proved that these veterans were still technically excellent and brutal without equal. Still, Vile Nilotic Rites was an explosion of monumental bombast with a clear but razor-sharp production, gripping riff-molestations, capricious leads, tight and mastodontic drumviolence and varied vocal excrement. Nile is without a doubt an imposing band, and while I am especially selective when it comes to death metal, Karl Sanders and his mates succeed in overwhelming me with their exceptionally potent mixture of savage violence, technical guitar-feats, and Eastern atmosphere.
Nile has proven itself to be at the absolute apex of the death metal scene since their classic Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka (1998). They’ve been striving for perfection since their very first album, even if they haven’t departed from their typical style since their debut album 26 years go. Nile has made a great impact every single time, and that was also certainly the case with Vile Nilotic Rites. That album contains the intensely heavy, robust sound of Nile. It seems like archpharao Karl Sanders (in his Serpent Headed Studios) consciously chose to go all-out in producing the album, to make every instrument (and the vocals) sound as grand and powerful as possible. It fits the unique concept of Nile: bringing Egyptian history and mythology (with a touch of H.P. Lovecraft) to life with monumental and rock-hard death metal, technical but sensational, and with a story to boot. Because that’s what makes Nile a world-sized band: their music requires commitment, and is centred around a strong theme, which is found in short atmospheric pieces and in the lyrics and is also masterfully integrated in the music. Egypt is the plaything of frontman Karl Sanders, and he has an outspoken fascination with the Egyptian people and other Middle Eastern cultures. I would recommend his ambient project to readers/listeners who are also interested in traditional Egyptian/Eastern music.
The Underworld Awaits Us All is Nile’s tenth album after the excellent Vile Nilotic Rites which set the bar incredibly high. Sanders even says that the bandmembers, in the advent of the new album, agreed unanimously to aim even higher when it came to songwriting, playing the instruments, production, and cohesion between the numbers. A step forward, while staying true to the musical tradition of Nile. According to the band, The Underworld Awaits Us All is a return to basics: there is more of an emphasis on the metal itself. All elements which could distract the listener from the intention behind the tracks were thrown away immediately. Last but not least: all individual elements (instruments and vocals) were given the same amount of care during production, because they just deserve to be heard and appreciated. A commendable goal indeed, but as a fan of the more “cinematic” aspects of this band (the epic grandeur of the more symphonic elements and the foreboding mystique of One Thousand and One Nights), I do have some questions. Let’s look for some answers.
The line-up consists of the veterans Karl Sanders and George Kollias, supported by the guitarists Brian Kingsland and Zach Jeter, and Dan Vadim Von (Morbid Angel) on bass guitar (he’s Brad Parris’ replacement). So, one extra guitarist compared to the previous album and so the question arises whether this album will have even more impact than its predecessors. Exciting!
It is clear that Nile remains at the top on a technical level, even if the tone of this album is more organic and less clean and hard than the previous one. I don’t know many wines which become better after thirty years, but this cuvée from South Carolina have this exceptional quality at their disposal. Mastery and aggression are in abundance in The Underworld Awaits Us All, and the album might as well sound darker and harder with a title like that. But after three songs I am still waiting for something you’d call an “ear catcher”: a moment where the music takes your attention. Such moments were easier to find in Vile Nilotic Rites (please take a moment to listen to the sublime Seven Horns of War, to see what I mean). Luckily the “ear catcher” can be found in track four, even if you’ll have to wait for the whole track to end before it can distinguish itself. Naqada II Enter the Golden Age (Naqada II or the Gerzeh culture refers to artefacts which were found in a 4500-year-old prehistoric grave) brings us a rather traditional “Ithyphallic” death metal: super tight, destructive, almost inhuman drumming frenzy and guitars which cut through the ether like cleavers made of lead, but which solo in an ingenious way. Feel free to take a look at the lyrics, which make it all a little clearer. The song really becomes genius after the solo, when “We’ve Got to Cleanse The Black Earth” is repeated by the band and a women’s choir (has Nile ever done this before?). The combination of both singing styles works perfectly here (which I would never have believed is I had not heard it) and it effectively gives the music some extra personality.
We’ve had the sing-along moment, and we were already spoiled with brutally savage death metal. The Pentagrammathion of Nephren-Ka, a reference to H.P. Lovecraft and to Nile‘s debut album, adds the final piece of the Nile-puzzle: traditional Eastern sound which make you drowsy, after which Overlords of the Black Earth takes us back to the hot desert sand. Or is it the black earth, which has been purged by Naqada II’s elite in the meantime? According to this song’s lyrics, the overlords would have power over the “imperishable black flame” and the same could be said for the five bandmembers, who, again, drown us with quick finger- and footwork. Still, Overlords of the Black Earth is more varied than its predecessors. Halfway through the album, it appears the time was ripe for a short synthesis, because this song brings the first four songs together perfectly, and also broadens the spectrum. You can clearly hear more variety in this song: besides the quick pieces, we also hear some passages at middling tempo, putting the corpse-like growl vocals (like they’re straight out of a sarcophagus!) at the forefront. The choir also returns with its theatrical grandeur. This track is an accomplished addition to the album. The rhythm and tempo frequently change, and it all happens so chaotically and unpredictably, just how we know the band!
Meanwhile, it has become apparent that their aim was to put equal amounts of attention to not only every instrumental, but also to the vocals. The same also applies to the lyrics, which form an essential and relevant part of the music. With the addition of the choir, Nile has put together all the ingredients. With these they make devastating track after devastating track. Under the Curse of the One God is overwhelmingly crushing and doesn’t aspire to change or bring internal balance, but just wants to bring forth some straight-up death metal. I am absolutely certain that there are drum machines out there that don’t play as fast and as consistent as George Kollias. That man’s drumming is incredibly impressive! This song is about perverse peoples and a wrathful deity and has beastly fits and starts. Who’s ever claimed that Nile goes easy on their listeners? Chaos, death and damnation, that is their doctrine. And that brings us seamlessly to Doctrine of Last Things, which adds some captivating and wailing passages (which reminds me a lot of Morbid Angel’s Where the Slime Live), and the female vocals at the end also make song stand out.
We’re approaching the end of the album and only now do we get to hear the title-track, which just happens to be the longest song of the entire album. It is monumental, as grandiose as pharaoh Ramses II, as terrible as the god Apophis, and as massive as the pyramid of Cheops. The common thread running through it is the story of the inevitable decline towards the underworld, as seen in the line “It is written”, which leads the listener like an oil lamp through the labyrinthian halls of this death metal mausoleum. It’s probably another coincidence, but just like Overlords of the Black Earth, this feels like the culmination of all that came before: a display of potential and perspective by a band who’ve also proven themselves. The solos wail just a tad more convincing, George Kollias found another pair of arms, and the three throat-executioners with theatrical dames bring forth the most evil from their vocal cords. It is just delicious. “The True Home is the Underworld which Awaits Us” – as was carved in hieroglyphs.
With Nile, instrumental doesn’t always mean ambient or symphonic. No word is uttered in Lament for the Destruction of Time, but the guitars wail and whine in this terrific elegy, expanded upon by a wide horizon where the sun will go under for all eternity. You can literally call it “Destruction of Time”, because after the female lamentations have died out, that’s when Kollias brings his most destructive drumming yet. You hear everything crumbling to dust. Close the papyrus rolls and seal the gates of the underworld shut. Nile came, and Nile left no banner standing.
Who, just like me, loves the pompous orchestral and classical ethic element of Nile, will probably prefer Vile Nilotic Rites over The Underworld Awaits Us All, but even the harshest critics will recognise the technical mastery in this album. Even the choices made in this album, no matter how much of a step back they are, need to be respected. In a sense, Nile returns to the roots of the genre with The Underworld Awaits Us All, rather than the roots of the band. As a listener, you will get proportionally more death metal at the cost of what I will call “framing”. The album starts out (quite literally) breathtakingly and very massive but becomes more approachable as it draws to its conclusion. For those who like their death metal raw and who are not averse to a little thrash metal, I can recommend Chapter for Not Being Hung Upside Down on a Stake in the Underworld and Made to Eat Feces by the Four Apes. Those who are more partial to some more atmosphere may prefer True Gods of the Desert. So, there’s something for everyone? Not quite, because I can only recommend Seven Horns of War to those who want symphonic grandeur, but that’s a song from the previous album.
The Underworld Awaits Us All holds an interesting place in Nile’s discography, even if I suspect it will divide the fanbase.
Score:
85/100
Label:
Napalm Records, 2024
Tracklisting:
- Stelae of Vultures
- Chapter for Not Being Hung Upside Down on a Stake in the Underworld and Made to Eat Feces by the Four Apes
- To Strike with Secret Fang
- Naqada II Enter the Golden Age
- The Pentagrammathion of Nephren-Ka
- Overlords of the Black Earth
- Under the Curse of the One God
- Doctrine of Last Things
- True Gods of the Desert
- The Underworld Awaits us All
- Lament for the Destruction of Time
Line-up:
- Karl Sanders – Vocals, guitars, keyboards
- George Kollias – Drums
- Brian Kingsland – Guitars, vocals
- Zach Jeter – Guitars, vocals
- Dan Vadim Von – Bass
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