Review by Richard Henry for MPM
Well as we enter into the Catacombs and we try and not have to eat Faces on the way in, we know that the underworld awaits us all, in other words I am back at the Limelight tonight for death metal legends Nile who are back in town and bring a packed bill with them tonight, 23 years ago I first seen these guys in the Rosetta Bar in 2001 so you can say I have been a fan for awhile! First Up!
Pestifer
Now as soon as you see a fretless bass you have an idea, and that idea was correct, I absolutely loved these guys, a real sense of a mix of Tech Death/Jazz Ala Cynic or Atheist, crossed with a more dissonant black metal leaning then with a really nice blend of death metal thrown in as well, really cool band and I massively enjoyed them, some out there parts for sure but they where really good with the crowd and tried to get everyone going, for a first time seeing them I am definitely going onto band camp and ordering whatever they have on there, if you like your proggy/tech/death then go check them out!
Intrepid
These guys are a bit more to the point, definitely have their roots in bands like Krabathor/Vader etc, that was my initial impression, a lot more straight forward than Pestifer, more that straight death metal, but more that old school vibe, if you had put these guys in around 1991 with Dismember and Entombed they wouldn’t be out of place at all, energetic and purposeful is what I can say, again and the story of the night, they where trying to get the crowd riled up and into it and the crowd to be fair where terrible tonight, absolute silence between songs and no atmosphere at all, but I will come back to that on Nile, great effort from the guys, enjoyable but Pestifer for me where the better opener!
Hideous Divinity
Dust Settles on Humanity
First track from the new album “Unextinct”, an almost black metal feel at the start of it as it comes in as the intro to the set, they are setting their stall out right from the off, and then we have………
The Numinous One
Syncopated drum and guitar intro and then right into the blast beats, frontman Enrico lets a growl out of him while scowling at the audience, great mix of the lower growls and the higher parts, some really serious drumming going on from Edoardo, I love the mix of the faster parts and then shifting the tempos to more mid tempo but with the flying double bass parts, really technical and tight, Stefano on bass looks like he is having a whale of a time over there on the far side, I just love the twists and turn son this musically, it keeps it really interesting, some absolutely outstanding playing from all the guys!
Against the Sovereignty of Mankind
We are on and 1-2-3 punch from the album as this is the next one in sequence, right into the ferocity from the off, the guys are sort of battering through it but you can tell there are some technical issues up there, seems to be a bad night for monitors, there are some parts in this one really remind me of black metal in the way the chords are dissonant and sort of droning in parts as well, yet again I find myself watching the drummers tonight and Edoardo, is seriously impressive, really lovely solo on this one from Enrico as well, another absolutely slamming track!
The Deaden Room
Heading back to the “Simulacrum” album for this one, sort of had an issues now as the guys have turned the monitor down or off and as these guys are the only band not using actual amps I really lost the guitar for the rest of the set, lovely bass break right there before the blast beats come flying in, I loved watching frontman Enrico, he really knows how to engage with a crowd, unfortunately the crowd tonight didn’t seem to want to engage with anyone was the issue, the amount of twists and turns that the drums make on this is dizzying, these guys are really doing great things and I strongly suggest if you haven’t heard them and are just reading this review, go and check them out, live they are a different beast even to the album, even more aggressive and just so impressive watching them fly through this material!
Quasi-Sentient
Back to the new album for this one, and a more slow deliberate start to this one which was indeed welcome considering the ferocious pace we have started at, I love the way this one sort of ambles on and just grinds and drags along, like dragging a dead body, before a bass break and then the double kicks start in along with the riff and there are twists and turns as the two follow each other along in the riff, again at this point it was hard to hear the guitars so I was sort of going from memory and watching the guitarist Enrico, but they are so tight and solid live, massively impressed!
Angel of Revolution
Back to the “Adveniens” album, and right off its a barrage of blast beats to hit you, this one really reminds me of Morbid Angel like Formulas Era and Angelcorpse for some reason, lovely sliding riff and then some dissonant chords, all the time the double bass is flying and the blasts are all over the place as Enrico screams at the crowd before the other Enrico takes a solo, some nice tapping and runs in there, as the drums ramp up and fly behind the solo, then a break comes before they slam back in with the double bass and then a really cool riff following the snare which was really well played, loved this one!
Misterium Tremendum
Onto the new album again for this one, sludgy riff to start this, like really grindy and nasty, before it changes and the double kicks and blast come in at a dizzying tempo, lots of higher vocals on this one as well, then nice mix of the highs and low for variation, again a real black metal feel to some of the riffs on this one, like Mayhem – Grand Declaration, or Vltimas, I am just getting that vibe from this one, I absolutely love it, then when it splits up into the slower middle section its exactly at the right place to split up the song and then a really melodic solo from Enrico before he starts the shredding and as soon as he does the tempo shifts to match it, amazing track!
Cobra Verde
All the way back to the 2014 album of the same name, creepy guitar intro to this, really ominous sounding, then the double kicks and heavy guitar come in, I love the way they are following each other at the start of this and then a great trem picked riff comes in and the blast beats come in and follow it, again its so hard not to sit and watch the drummers all night at a gig like this as they are doing so much, some great riffs in this one and the vocals are savage, love the way the middle section has a completely different feel than the rest of the track, very Nile though in parts on this one to be fair when you hear it live, a really entertaining and musically amazing set from these guys, absolutely loved them, go check them out now!!!
Nile
Well we have been treated to a good 30 mins of Karls mellow Saurian album through the PA, which if you haven ever listened to the trilogy of them, they are the most mellow chill out music with that Egyptian feel to it, the guys are onstage at 9:15, George has been up there for a bit feeling the kit out and they open with a song they seem to favour for kicking off the set!
Sacrifice Unto Sabek
As soon as you hear that intro and the tom rolls, from 2005’s Annihilation of the Wicked album, you get your horns in the air between the breaks, because you know you are about to get flattened when this one kicks in, I have seen this band in many line ups, back to Chief Spires, but damn, Daniel, Zach make a serious vocal tag team, and I have to admit I have only ever seen Daniel play guitar with Morbid, great vocals and bass playing, I love It when it hits that break and that harmony guitar part, its absolutely slamming, Karl off on an absolute sweep fest of a solo, its a hell of a way to open your set!
Defiling the Gates of Ishtar
Now this takes me right back to seeing them in 2001, from the Black Seeds of Vengeance album, this one is just a slap in the face from the off, the tempo is right up there, I love the way George captures all the Derek Roddy stuff on here, again the vocal swapping between all three guys is absolutely first class, there is a nauseating riff in this one right before Karl gets another solo, both Karl and Zach are flying around the neck, its sort of hard to keep you eyes off George though as he is just nuts, then that really creepy chanting part comes up with Karl doing the clean vocals to it, then that half time blast part, there are definitely technical issues again with George not happy as he cant hear most of the band and the kick are too loud, didn’t affect the song but you can see his frustration!
To Strike With Secret Fang
My mate beside me needed held down on this one, he was waiting for it, from the new album “The Underworld Awaits Us All”, I love that roll until you get that trem picked riff and the drum fills before it just hits you slap between the eyes, almost a black metal feel to that part about 50 seconds in and I never noticed till they played it live, its the part right before the solos and after the solos, just the way that guitar riff sounds slightly dissonant, for a two minute song, its just ferocious!
Kafir
Look I am just going to have to admit some serious Kollias love here, from the album “Those Whom the Gods Detest”, its not even the intro which is nuts its the next part where George is playing a beat between the two snares all the time while the double bass is flying, its a sight to behold, also where else do I get to shout “There is no God” on a Sunday night in Belfast?? This is just for the throat from the off, the triple threat vocals, the absolutely insane drumming, the guitar work, now as a guitarist and sometimes drummer you have to marvel at the work these guys are putting in and the riffs are just insane, I’m just going to get it out of the way now, the crowd was awful tonight, no pits, no anything, in fact between songs there was pretty much silence, and you know what its not the first time, Belfast shows haven’t been great recently for crowds, in fact when Karl says about it, someone shouts we have work in the morning, first class response right there, terrible!!
Call to Destruction
We are really getting around the albums tonight, we are off to “What Should Not Be Unearthed”, I had never realised how off kilter that first part of this song was, again you just look at George and the eyes are closed but he is flying all round that kit, I think one of the things I can say is that I didn’t miss hearing Dallas or Brad or Brian, Daniel and Zach where solid all night on the vocals and obviously with this one being a big Dallas song, I really love that m middle section where it slows down and gets properly heavy right before the solo comes in, its sort of a welcome break before that intro riff comes in and the tempo ramps right up again, savage track live!
Vile Nilotic Rites
Title track from the last Nile album in 2019, its almost groovy, that really slow riff and that dragging drum beat over it, some really nice fills from George right at the start as well before it really kicks in, but its just a really sick riff, then when it does kick into the blasts the riff itself is sort of choppy and a bit different and it really makes it stand out more as there isn’t the same trem picking fast parts, Karl really likes to hang onto a note and shake the crap out of the guitar, thats for sure, I just love this track, its still as heavy as anything but in a completely different way!
Stelae of Vultures
First track from the new album coming up, you want drum fills, all of them are there in the first 30 seconds before the track properly slaps in with the switch between a more Slayer beat and full on blast beats, again the vocals of all the guys tonight are outstanding, I think the only thing for me was not really being able to hear Zach’s guitar that well but I was in front on Karl the whole night and I was ok with that but I was looking over and the guy was shredding the crap out of the guitar and spitting out vocals all night, that break in the middle with the fast trem pick before the solos is so god damn heavy live, these guys are quarter of century if not slightly more into the career and writing stuff, more technical, more aggressive and more catchy than in the early days!
In the Name of Amun
Back to the “What Should Not Be Unearthed” album for this one, intro comes in before George plays a fill across all the toms and then the song kicks in at a ferocious tempo, before it slows into that twisty riff and the slow double bass carries it on, its a real headbanger as well when you slip into the nearly middle part of the track, again I just cant get over the triple vocals, so so good with the two newer guys, Karl does indeed love a sweep in a solo, lovely phrasing as well in this one, that sliding octave riff and the guys are trying to get the crowd to chant along to the middle of this one but a few did and a lot of people just stood there and that was the store of the crowd all night, great track though!
Lashed to the Slave Stick
Back to “Annihilation of the Wicked”, this one is just an absolute barnstormer of a track, absolutely slamming double bass most of the way through this one, its just a real headbanger of a track, I was singing away with this one most of the way though, one part that really shines is when after the second chorus you get that part where the double kicks speed up and then you hit into the blast beats and this section is just glorious live, again its really nice because you get a reprieve in a way from the unrelenting blast beats and it makes the track really stand out, plus I always loved this track from the album!
Sarcophagus
Now when the guys said we are going back to the “In Their Darkened Shrines” album there was part of me was hoping it would be The Blessed Dead, but, we get this one and to be fair, it was well paced as the last track had brought it down a bit in tempo, George playing loads of Tonys drum parts from the original track, I love the fact this one doesn’t pick up in tempo, there is a part near the end with these little double bass ruffs that I always loved, then as it gets to the end there is that melody played over the top of it, always loved this track and its so good live, such a different atmosphere to this one compared to all the other songs tonight!
Long Shadows of Dread
Back to “Vile Nilotic Rites” for this one, this was the opening track, well after the calm comes the storm, and thats what certainly happened as we are back to full on bast beats, drum fills all over the place, and triple vocals, although when you get into the second section of this song with the dragging double bass it really grinds down and then you get a classic Nile harmony riff with all the fills over the top, great solo from Zach in there as well I might add, love all the tempo shifts as well, the Karl has another few sweeps and speed picking while George throws the kitchen sink at that drum kit, absolutely savage!
Chapter for Not Being Hung Upside Down on a Stake in the Underworld and Made to Eat Faces by the Four Apes
Now if this isn’t the longest song title I have ever had to write then I don’t know, back to the new album for this one, and from the off its blasts and then a really crunchy riff, thats nasty, all the little breaks with the minor chords and then the fast double bass between the blasts, its so tight, there is a riff about a min and a bit in and it is literally maybe the catchiest riff Nile have ever had, I love it, over a more thrash beat, its a short song but it packs so much into it, great solos come in and the vocals crash along with them, then back into that riff again, amazing track live!
Black Seeds of Vengeance
I mean memories, 23 years ago in the Rosetta Bar, completely different line up from tonight, Chief Spires, Tony Laureano, Dallas and Karl, and you know what tonight might even be better, this song is and will always be one of my favourite Nile songs, and it was tight as anything tonight, I gave myself a sore throat shouting along with the song title during that part nearer the end of the song, all I have to say is these guys just get better and better every single time you see them, absolutely outstanding yet again!
I think only three albums not hit tonight and that was “At The Gates”, “Ithyphallic” and “Amongst the Catacombs, but that was a serious career spanning set list tonight, absolutely on fire tonight, pity Belfast wasn’t at all, but I loved them as I always do, hopefully we see them back again!
Still two UK dates left so if you get a chance get to Manchester or London and go catch them!!
