TRACKLISTING

 

1.-The Blessed Dead
2.-Execration Text
3.-Sarcophagus
4.-Kheftiu Asar Butchiu
5.-Unas, Slayer Of The Gods
6.-Churning The Maelstrom
7.-I Whisper In The Ear Of The Dead
8.-Wind Of Hours
In Their Darkened Shrines
9.- I: Hall Of Saurian Entombment
10.- II: Invocation To Seditious Heresy
11.- III: Destruction Of The Temple Of The Enemies Of Ra
12.- IV: Ruins

 

   Nile is a band that strive to be innovative inside Death Metal. All of their previous albums found a place in originality. Amongst The Catacombs Of Nephren-Ka and Black Seeds Of Vengeance were relentless works that surprised because of its brutality mixed with subtle harmony that didn't lessened the furious rhythm, adding instead the mysterious sound that take back the listener to strange and wonderful cultures such as the Egyptian. All in all, it was a pretty effective mix that was more than pleasant. In Their Darkened Shrines is, more or less, no exception. I say more or less because apparently it's not as solid as their previous albums; this one wanders in another paths that the band had treaded tentatively in Black Seeds... in songs like "To Dream Of Ur", where an epic facet tried to emerge. The songs always had epicness beneath them, constructing impressive riffs that didn't get enough consideration in order to be short and straight. But this new album exploits the band's capacity to build the climax in long, interesant compositions. Of course, a change had to occur to make this feature posible, and that is, the band is slower than before. The most coherent example is "Unas, Slayer Of The Gods". This song is a wonder inside the genre. Through eleven minutes, it rises through various riffs and interludes, expanding the narrative quality that characterize the band. To make sense inside the structure, the brutality is necessarily less than in their shorter tracks. Lessened the brutality, the melody rises higher. The song that gives its title to the album is another epic try. This one is not as unified as "Unas, Slayer Of The Gods" for it's divided in four tracks, and, at least musically, they don't have much of a connection. In "Hall Of Saurian Entombment" the Egyptian sounds are purely shaped, but the rest of the song veil the strangeness behind the guitar and the drum, as the band use to do.  These monstrous seventeen minutes allow greater brutality because they don't mantain the same basic structure as "Unas, Slayer..." Primarily, the song is four songs. "In Their Darkened Shrines" and "Unas, Slayer Of The Gods" if not perfect, are majestic.

 

   This epic shade, more solid than ever before, doesn't represent all the change Nile have undergone. The variation in their style has turned the spotlight from the riffs to the drum. In what can be considered a true artistic move, the band decided to relegate a little bit the guitar work, provided that the drums not only are perfect, precise, but they give the melody some of the times ("The Blessed Dead or the end of "Sarcophagus") If the drumming had always had a great part in the composition, now they have the main role. The guitar simplified itself and only surfaces when needed (one solo here, one over there or a reminder of the catchy riffs from the previous material)
This change of balance inspired a come-back to the classic sound, forged by legendary bands such as Carcass. "I Whisper In The Ear Of The Dead" presents a simplicity rarely heard before in their material, basing the construction around one simple rhythm. Such song, among others, represent a tribute to the old monsters of Death.

 

   So, the originality is still present; Nile haven't lost the touch to produce an original sound that renovates the genre. The only fault in the album maybe the "softness" that broke free to supress some of the nastiness that their music had. Nile abandoned the keyboards; the guitar, sometimes the drumming, did the Egyptian influenced sound. Whether if the trade will be accepted or not, the fan will decide.

 

90 OUT OF 100