Nile
Those Whom The Gods Detest

I confess my initial fear in approaching Nile's new effort, after the strong disappointments of their last two albums (particularly "Ithyphallic"). I had hastily labeled their creative vein as exhausted and their ability to renew themselves as dead with the majestic "In Their Darkened Shrines" of 2002, and therefore expected very little from this "Those Whom The Gods Detest": I was ready to listen to at most washes of riffs for their own sake, blast-beats as furious as they were useless, a splash of crude Egyptian ambient following the solo works of Karl Sanders, and in short, so much ugly mannerism.

Now, however, I must amend, despite the wounds still being open and pustular, to warn the unwary listener not to repeat my mistake: I paid dearly from the first listen, when less than an hour after pressing the "play" button, I found myself on the ground on all fours with my back shattered, my eyes rolled back, drool at my mouth, and my right leg shaking compulsively; unable to drag myself to the stereo to press the magic button again.

Because this album is a hallucinatory and hypnotic journey that captures and enchants from the first notes and which in the end you will want -alas- to repeat; an exploration into the darkest and meanest visions of a more feral than ever Karl Sanders, but also finally mature from a compositional point of view and aware of his expressive abilities. Excellent (but who could have doubted?) the work of axe and voice colleague Dallas Toler and Greek drummer George Kollias; indeed, regarding the latter, I had more than a few doubts, since I had read that the geographical distance separating him from the others forced him to rely more than necessary on triggered drums and that many of those parts recorded in Athens in this way ended up the same on the album. Here too I was wrong, as the final result is not trivial or artificial, but contributes to increasing the horrific and distant mood of the album. Thanks also to the co-production precisely for the skins by Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal, former Morbid Angel, come on...) and Neil Kernon on the entire product. Again, another honorable mention to an always captivating concept (this time speaking of the followers of the "pharaoh" Akhenaten who tried to promote a religious reform), and to a meticulously curated artwork.

It is difficult to describe a single track over the others, in fact, I won’t. Forgive me, those who know the best Nile already know what to expect... well, I will tell you that in "Those Whom Gods Detest," nothing will ever be adequate to your expectations but much... much more! The quality standard remains extremely high for all 56 minutes, there's not enough time to catch your breath except for a few dramatic seconds, and immediately you are swept away by blasts of riffs and harmonies this time entirely "oriental" at 360 degrees. It feels like being in the desert on a long exodus from Egypt to Libya, but the "ambient" drifts are fortunately stripped down, in favor perhaps of an unexpected melodic opening (including vocals!) in some tracks, which on the one hand will indignant the most uncompromising fans, but on the other hand, undoubtedly shows courage from the group and a desire to experiment with new paths. 

A full album of surprises and very pleasant then, not their best work in my opinion but undoubtedly the most mature (for this my rating is 5/5) and an excellent snapshot of the health status of death-metal at the end of this first glimpse of the millennium. This is it.

R.I.P.