What Should Not Be Unearthed

Alright, I’m half a dozen albums in, let’s revisit Nile’s career arc up until this point. Their first three albums established their unique, complex and interesting sound, adding extra spices and ingredients throughout. There were some growing pains and hiccups along the way, but once they got the mix right and put out Annihilation of the Wicked, approximately 6,000 lives were lost in the tidal wave of jizz that erupted out of metal fans when it first dropped.

The next two albums that followed had remnants of what caused AotW to create such a stir, but the tendency for the songs to go too far up their own ass started to creep back in again. Just when you thought they had figured it out, they went right back to handicapping themselves, and every new album seemed to drift further away from the magic. Ithyphallic still had its moments of glory, but you could tell something was missing. Those Whom the Gods Detest was a little bit closer, but way too dense and long and as such lacked that explosive punch - although at least they finally figured out the ambient part. By the time Sethu came in with its amped up technicality it was obvious they had completely abandoned the original map and were trying to forge an alternate path to glory. I was feeling it, but my understanding is Sethu didn’t jive so well with the fanbase.

Around this time, Karl Sanders started listening to his critics on the internet or something, because What Should Not Be Unearthed, the subject of this review here, is the closest thing to the hallowed Annihilation of the Wicked, at least in terms of its focus and structure. Like its older brother, Unearthed gives you the meat first with fewer frills than before - the key difference is the technical, aggressive side of Nile’s music isn’t hitting with the same impact here. All of the pieces are present, and everything appears to be where it should be, but for some reason this album just can’t gel to form a compelling picture..

It seems like the reaction to What Should Not Be Unearthed was more positive, as it does amend many of the criticisms people had about Sethu. The thicker production has returned, and the guitars return to the heavier, grounded fretwork that sounds closest to Ithyphallic and Those Whom the Gods Detest. This is an album that hedges its bets and picks the safest and shortest route to any feasible destination Nile would go. It checks all the boxes they didn’t check with the previous album, and does everything you expect it to. For most people it seems like that was fine, but at the tail end of a Nile binge like I am it sounds uninspired and afraid of branching out and trying a new take the same way other albums did.

As much as I give Sanders and co. flak for trying off-the-wall experiments and diversions that miss the mark, I do always appreciate that Nile has the balls to go for the jugular. What Should Not Be Unearthed is the first album they’ve ever written in which they merely retread old ground, which is why it ends up sounding so middling. There’s so much “this is ok” on this album it starts to become irritating by the end. The songwriting is steadier, with many more sustained bursts of speed and frenetic riffing which they’ve focused on since at least Sethu, but at least the bad transitions early on were...interesting, even if it was in a bad way. Unearthed can’t manage that. The warmer, muddier tone might have been what people were asking for, but it muffles the impact of the faster fretwork. “Negating the Abominable Coils of Apep” is a smoothly written, flowing song, but I can’t remember a single second of it once it’s done. The songs focus on the technical, overstimulating parts of the music, whizzing past you in a blur without any momentum. It doesn’t sound inspired anymore, and in some ways that’s worse than their more haphazard messes like In Their Darkened Shrines, because at least in their early career they made terrible choices with enthusiasm and zeal.

I feel like I’ve had to beat around the bush more when reviewing What Should Not Be Unearthed, comparing it more to previous releases than how it stands on its own. However, it’s much more difficult to write about Unearthed because of the lack of distinct, standout qualities. This is the last Nile album with the core trinity intact, as Dallas Toler-Wade would depart a few years later. If this was the path that Nile was going to continue down, I’m glad they didn’t keep things stable, because you can hear how they struggle to break outside of the box they’ve painted themselves in. Perhaps that’s even the crux of why this sounds so forced as a majority of the stagnant contributions are coming from the guitars and vocals. You could argue Toler-Wade was phoning it in. His narrative mid-ranged growl has always just kinda hung around, but here it just...I can’t even really give it many defining qualities other than it exists. I suppose the really weird phrasing wouldn’t really fit any other way, but it also doesn’t fit in general...this album is the only time it really grates on me at all though.

Initially started this series because I thought the diversity and idiosyncrasy of every album in Nile’s back catalog would make them an easy target for a deep dive. In that sense the only real notable quality about What Should Not Be Unearthed is that it’s Nile’s forgettable release.

Nile's career trajectory is fairly well known at this point, but I think it's worth noting that their decline after the thundering megalith that is Annihilation of the Wicked has been oddly enjoyable. They're in a strangely enticing funk as of now, not unlike the smelled of burned bacon. It's not what you wanted, and it's definitely inferior to how good it could have been, but it's still fine if you have a certain taste for it (or an affinity for bad cooking). Ithyphallic and Those Whom the Gods Detest are kinda controversial in their standing with the general fandom, with most people agreeing that there's really nothing wrong with them on the surface, but there's just... something missing. Some undefined intangible that made the previous records so great that just isn't quite present here. The only true misstep so far as been At the Gates of Sethu, which cleaned up their awesome unique wall of sound and amped up the technicality to previously unseen levels. As a result, a lot of that steel-fisted ferocity was lost, and their penchant for badass hooks went out the window.

And that's where What Should Not Be Unearthed comes in, because this is about as good of a mea culpa we could have possibly asked for. It's clear they're never going to go back to their darkened shrines any time soon, so seeing them return to their detesting gods is wholly welcome for me. This album's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness, that being that it's basically a return to the sound from two albums ago. On one hand, this means we're getting exceptionally solid hyperdeath again, rife with the same Egyptian scales Karl is so in love with, Dallas handling the lion's share of vocals still, and George still hasn't learned how to play a beat slower than 40000bpm. On the other hand, the band isn't challenging themselves in any way and are just resting on their laurels, releasing a safe album that sounds identical to previous albums that were already proven to be successful.

For all of Sethu's faults, I could at least appreciate that the band was trying to evolve. That's not the case on Unearthed (pardon the truncating of the album titles, you can understand how annoying it is that they keep naming shit full sentences), where Nile instead just safely goes back into their comfort zone and make no effort to advance further. Maybe this has ultimately been the bugaboo holding the last few albums back, and Sethu just finally made it obvious. They've been chasing the mighty shadow of Annihilation for over a decade now, and when they tried to do anything else, it turned out they weren't all that good at it. Rehashing Annihilation is what they do best.

And frankly? I'm okay with that. Really, Unearthed may not be pushing any boundaries but it's a showcase of a band playing to their strengths. Basically every song here powers forwards at extremely high tempos, backed by relentless blasting and meaty tremolo riffs, highlighted with that sexy Middle Eastern flavor and gale-force bellows from Dallas and deep gurgles from Karl. That's exactly what they're good at, so it's nice to hear them quit fucking with the noodly technicality and jump headfirst back into explosive riffage again. Nile has always basically just been regular old death metal played three times faster than necessary with a unique sense of melody at their core, and tracks like "Liber Stellae Rubeae", "Rape of the Black Earth", and the massive "Call to Destruction" showcase that with aplomb. There's the token traditional interlude with "Ushabti Reanimator" and some slow crushing sections like the back half of the title track as well. It's nothing you haven't heard before but it's just as good as it's always been. The only thing it's really missing is a super long song, being the first album not to see a track break the seven minute mark since the debut (though the title track falls only a second or two short). It's a Nile album. That's really all the explanation it needs.

So ultimately, Unearthed is both disappointing and satisfying. It's disappointing that it's regressive fanservice dressed up as a heralded return to their roots, but it's satisfying because they're still really god damned good at that sound. Clearly, the satisfaction outweighs the disappointment. Personally, I thought Detest was a great album, and Unearthed is pretty much exactly on par with that one. So however you felt about them two albums ago is exactly how you'll feel about this one. Sure, they still haven't written anything as pulse-pounding and exciting as "Lashed to the Slave Stick" or as epic as "Unas, Slayer of the Gods" in a long time, but they can keep giving me replacements like "Papyrus Containing the Spell..." and "4th Arra of Dagon" as long as they like if they're going to stay at this level of quality.


Originally written for Lair of the Bastard

I know for a fact that this album has been anticipated like crazy by Nile fans, and the death metal scene in general. After the bit underwhelming “At the Gate of Sethu”, many were curious what these SC legends would bring to the table next.

Don’t get me wrong, “Sethu” is still a fine album. The band decided to try something different and go with a very articulate, clean production, where everything could be heard clearly – and it did just that. And while I commend them for trying something different, the truth of the matter is that metal is supposed to GO SMASH.

“What Should Not Be Unearthed” sees a return of a more primal Nile, a Nile which is much more straightforward and violent. I mean, they don’t need to prove that they can play. Everyone and their dog knows that Nile are beasts on their instruments. They literally have fuck all to prove to anyone, so it’s good to hear them back doing what they do best – GO SMASH.

You can instantly tell that it’s a more violent album when “Call to Destruction” comes roaring out of your speakers. Fast, tight, angry – Nile. Much of the album follows this formula of “I’ll kick you in the face until my leg gets tired”, in which “Liber Stellae Rubeae” is a prime example. Just absolute brutality with skull fucking riffs coming at you from all directions, it really is Nile doing what they do best – liquefying faces. The guitars roar with vengeful might and anger, the vocals are blistering slabs of death metal goodness, and behind the kit you have George Kollias, doing his best impersonation of a human being as he possibly can. George, knock it off, we all know you’re not of our species.

“In the Name of Amun” starts life with an elegant baglama saz intro and female vocals, and it’s really quite beautiful until Kollias decides “OK NOW WE BLAST” and off we go again. The riffs here are nothing short of just absolute filth, it’s just sheer aggression, and the guitars sound fucking HUGE. It’s quite amazing when you think how low these guys tune their guitars, throw on eight thousands metric tons of distortion, and STILL manage to sound clear as day. The lead guitar tones on this album are especially good.

I’m not going to go into the songs one by one as there really isn’t any point. This is a monster of an album which any self respecting death metal fan should have in their collection. To me it sounds like a mixture of “Those Whom the Gods Detest” and “Annihilation of the Wicked”, and that’s a pretty good thing to sound like.

One piece of criticism that I would like to make would be for the overall production. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good. There’s very little wrong with the way it sounds. The problem is that it sounds just too similar to the last five Nile albums. The drums need to be way louder in the mix. I want that double bass to rattle my chest and intestines. I want that snare to feel like it’s repeatedly punching me in the face. While I love Neil Kernon’s work, and the guy himself is an excellent producer and engineer (he's worked with Al Di Meola for fuck's sake, I have the utmost respect for him), I just think it’s time for a change. Five albums with the same producer is just enough. I want to hear what someone else can bring out of this band. The problem I think is that since they’ve been working with Neil for so long (exactly ten years now), everyone is just real comfortable in the studio… too comfortable. It’s time to spice things up a bit, see how they sound with someone else. It’s time to throw a wrench in the cycle and see what happens.

In conclusion,this is a superb album. The song writing is catchy, brutal, and effective. Performances by the band members are excellent, as to be expected with Nile. Do yourself a favor and give it a spin.. IT GOES SMASH.

Highlights : Liber Stellae Rubeae, In the Name of Amun, Call to Destruction, Evil to Cast Out Evil, Rape of the Black Earth.

Coming off the disappointment that was At The Gate of Sethu, not a drastic change in sound but different and poor enough to be badly received, Nile had to step up their game. If they continued downward or even plateaued, they might go down in history as another band that forgot how to write good music. Their legacy is already secure, their early masterpieces behind them, a few more recent albums more debatable in terms of quality. At this point, we have a general idea of what to expect from Nile in terms of sound, which isn’t going to change all of that much. On the contrary, there are definite fluctuations in quality over their discography, but their eighth effort secures their place as a relatively dependable act.

What Should Not Be Unearthed is a fairly standard Nile album, about average in quality and in sound, solid without being exceedingly remarkable. An improvement over At the Gate of Sethu, it doesn’t shadow the decrease in quality exhibited by their seventh release, though they tend to more or less follow the same formula for each album. Here, they stick to what they know, not exploring any new territory and not taking any chances… aside from the controversial lyrical content of Call to Destruction.

Nile’s eighth album relies primarily on unbridled, furious aggression and speed, cutting down on the dynamics and keeping the track lengths relatively short; nothing runs over seven minutes. The crushing doomy parts are present in small dosages, just enough to give WSNBU minimal variation, with help from the less dramatic deviations in tempo. Generally, however, a relentless, brutal assault on the eardrums is their approach.

The technicality is as present as ever, the blistering pace that most of the album plays at driving up the intensity. George Kollias, while giving one hell of a performance, simultaneously does nothing interesting. I have always admired his blast beats, stamina, and mind-boggling speed, but it’s just more of the same, and he gets designated to the background. The drums are a little low in the mix, so perhaps I can blame that for his unmemorable playing. Nothing about it seems to jump out, no matter how long you wait. Most of the vocals take the form of Dallas’s mid-range growls, with some of Karl’s ridiculously low-pitched, unintelligible vocals added in to change it up occasionally. Fortunately there is little to none of that cheesy shouted/chanted/clean singing nonsense which they sometimes add to make it sound more authentic or whatever.

The Egyptian theme sounds as though they are filling out a formula, much like how Deicide consistently writes anti-Christian lyrics, and Cannibal Corpse will never stop obsessing over gore. So Nile goes and writes their mythology-based, old-English lyrics as usual, but an interesting development is Call to Destruction’s subject matter. They address a modern issue this time involving radical Islam, thus getting the band a lot of shit despite the disclaimer on the video released for this song.

Of course the Egyptian theme bleeds into the music as well, not just the lyrics, the riffs borrowing from Middle Eastern music, differentiating Nile from other death metal acts. The mandatory short ethno-ambient track is in there (Ushabti Reanimator), the intro to In the Name of Amun following the same idea, and bells and gongs are all over the place. Not much different from the rest of their albums.

And overall, What Should Not be Unearthed is not much different from other Nile albums. It is not their finest work, but by no means their worst. Musically, it does not stray far from their established sound. It is a standard release and takes few chances. The band has stuck with what they know how to do: deliver a solid dose of Egyptian-themed tech death. It’s likely that Nile will never recreate the glory of their past successes, but at least here they right the disappointment that was At the Gate of Sethu. WSNBU is their way of saying, “Hey, we’re still good,” even though by now what they do is beginning to feel almost formulaic. Worth picking up for fans.

Review orginally published at www.teethofthedivine.com by E.Thomas

One could argue that after four classic albums (Among the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka, Black Seeds of Vengeance, In Their Darkened Shrines, Annihilation of the Wicked), South Carolina’s Nile could be construed to be running in place for their following 3 albums, culminating in 2012’s At the Gates of Sethu. While unmistakably still a Nile album, production issues plagued the album, with critics (or maybe just me?) decrying the cleaner, pristine guitar tone, restrained vocals, overly technical songs. Some reviewers even seemed weary of the Egyptian theme.

Well, say what you will about Karl Sanders and Co., because he appears to have taken the divisive response to Sethu to heart, and he and the band have responded with the band’s best album since Annihilation of the Wicked. Maybe it’s the throwback production to the crushing wall of noise of yore. Maybe it’s the addition of vocalist/bassist Brad Parris to the long running guitar/ vocal duo of Toler-Wade/Sanders. Either way, it’s invigorated the band, because this feels like the first four albums.

From the heralding opening cry of the blistering and aptly named “Call to Destruction,” you can feel the power from the new production and material. Sanders has more involvement with his deeper roars, Wade has more snarl, the drums and guitars have a much denser, more commanding presence, and everything just seems far more virile and violent right out of the gate. And it’s not short lived either, as the second track “Negating the Abominable Coils of Apep” also erupts from the dunes with a commanding salvo we have come to expect from the band. It signals some of the album’s many slower, churning moments which I have always found to be the best part of Nile.

And tracks like “Liber Stellae – Rubaeae,” the title track, the last few crumbling moments of “In the Name of Amun,” “Age of Famine,” and standout closer “To Walk Forth From Flames Unscathed” all have these ponderous, heaving moments in great, heaping, stone-dragging heft, with that low end “CHUN” that rattles your fillings. Granted, there are no 10-minute opuses like “Unas” or “To Dream of Ur,” but we’re getting quality, not quality right? And Sanders and Co are still masters of sweeping, tech vortices that can be just dropping at times, as the opening duo and ferocious “Rape of the Black Earth” display. Also of note: “Evil to Cast Out Evil” highlights the new dual guitar attack with a surprisingly epic, melodic lead solo, possibly a first for a Nile album.

Naysayers will be pleased to hear that there is less Egyptian stuff going on as well. Less chants, less Middle Eastern instrumentation and atmospherics. And other than the minute and a half “Ushabti Reanimator,” there’s overall less fluff, shorter titles, and more ‘brain removed through your nose by a hook’ brutality, which is always a good time.

Not that they ever went away, but Nile’s place atop US death metal’s pedestal seemed shaky the last few albums, but album number 8 doesn’t just up the ante, it smashes it. Nile has cast down the heretics once more to reclaim their place atop US death metal’s metaphorical death metal pyramid, thought Hate Eternal and their new release Infernus, might make it a little crowded up there.