Call it Discovery Channel
metal
if you must, but
Nile
runs circles around the majority of
death metal
acts that churn out cookie-cutter records crammed with juvenile gore-splattered lyrics and incomprehensible blastbeats. While their third full-length,
In Their Darkened Shrines
, finds these genre-leaders advancing their sound in minute increments from previous platters
Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka
and
Black Seeds of Vengeance
, all can be forgiven when taking into account
's staggering, well-researched thematic depth and impressive musicianship. Plus, like
Black Seeds
, the CD booklet details the weight of mastermind/guitarist, and unofficial Egyptologist
Karl Sanders
, which means the band's work captures the nastiness and pitch-black themes of
, while at the same time being a work of blood-soaked historical fiction inspired by
H.P. Lovecraft
and ancient hieroglyphic texts. And
Shrines
is an utterly convincing realization of
's passion and intelligence, incorporating jarring tempo changes -- from downtuned
doom
/
sludge metal
to concise hyper-blasts -- laser-precise riffing and guttural
grindcore
vocals into the bowel-twisting, and occasionally startlingly melodic, structures of
"Sarcophagus,"
"Unas Slayer of Gods,"
"Wind of Horus."
But the album's crowning achievement is a four-part suite
"In Their Darkened Shrines,"
a truly epic masterpiece in both concept and execution, seamlessly incorporating majestic, sweeping keyboards, chanting choirs, tribal drumming, and battle horns into the mix, with recurring melodic themes marking what is easily the band's most ambitious and effective composition to date -- a pseudo-
symphonic death metal
soundtrack
that conjures up visions of tyranny, slavery, rebellion, and sacrifice to cruel gods. While other acts in the genre are content to create the musical equivalent of slasher flicks,
aspires to
Lawrence of Arabia
heights, essentially beating old tyrants
Morbid Angel
at their own game.
transports the listener into the shadows of the ancient pyramids many millennia ago, and explores the brutal psychology of the time as well, thus betraying a level of ambition to which very few bands in the genre aspire. Quite frankly,
is the
band of the '00s, and
is, for all intents and purposes, a masterpiece. ~ John Serba