NILE — Annihilation of the Wicked (review)

NILE — Annihilation of the Wicked album cover Album · 2005 · Technical Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
topofsm
In 2005 Nile released a modern classic: "Annihilation of the Wicked". The album contains everything anyone would want in a death metal album. It has dark, sinister energy and will blast the listener to no end. It also contains Nile's trademark use of phrygian scales to set the Egyptian theme.

It starts off with the subtle, ambient "Dusk Falls Upon the Temple of the Serpent on the Mount of Sunrise". It seems pleasant enough for one whose tastes reside outside of metal, that is, until the gargantuan dynamic shift when the blasts of "Cast Down the Heretic" come in. This is where Nile unleashes their full force, with blastbeats and evil distorted riffs, and one of the deepest aggressive growls even amongst death metal. There are technical shreds and there is rapid drumming. Simply put, the whole album is a tour de force of heaviness and technicality.

Standout tracks abound in this release. One of the best ones is certainly "User~Maat~Re" though. The riffs are intricate, and there are slow sludgy parts juxtaposed with pummeling double bass that pound the listener. A fan favorite and for good reason is "Sacrifice Unto Sebek" which is probably just as wicked as the title of the album implies. The title track has pounding riffs, "Von Unnausprechen Kulten" is by far the darkest track and climaxes with a triumphantly growled monologue, and "The Burning Pits of the Duat", according to the liner notes, reaches speeds of 256 BPM, extremely rapid, even for death metal. The only somewhat weak song is "Chapter of Obeisance Before Giving Breath to the Inert One in the Presence of the Crescent Shaped Horns", which is merely not memorable, but has an interesting title nonetheless.

All in all, "Annihilation" is a modern classic. It will be remembered in years to come, and although it is not perfect, it is a masterpiece.
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