Album Review: Nile – The Underworld Awaits Us All

Dy DAN SOUTHALL

NILE have been telling stories of ancient Egyptian-based horror and consequence for over 25 years now. They found a technical groove that worked and despite never releasing a genuine dud, the last few releases had grown a bit stale. Now with two new members joining band mastermind Karl Sanders and drummer George Kollias, this new album shapes up to be a slight changing of the guard and a refreshing take on what the band has built its appeal on.

A quick look at the track list shows that the titles have lost none of their eccentricities but also that Nile has gone for the throat with a majority running shorter than has become usual. This includes the best song title of the year, “Chapter For Not Being Hung Upside Down On A Stake In The Underworld and Made To Eat Feces By The Four Apes” with a run time of under four minutes, it takes longer to memorise and type the title for a review. The track itself is unrelenting as Kollias winds up every limb like an extreme drumming octopus.

The pace continues as expected and unabated through “To Strike With Secret Fang” a sub-two minute whirlwind runtime that leaves the listener out of breath.

The new Nile isn’t afraid to inject more guitar interplay or adjust the vocals to suit the song, for instance the groove driven riffs and solos entwined throughout “Naqada II Enter The Golden Age” or “Doctrine of the Last Things”.

This album is Karl Sanders and Nile doing what they do best, but somehow doing it better than the last couple of outings. Consistency in music is great although sometimes it can grow stale, as has happened with many bands with a career as long as Nile’s. Here though, the formula has changed just enough to give the fans what they expect, and new listeners something to latch onto.

Buy The Underworld Awaits Us All on CD and vinyl