Nile - Annihilation of the Wicked (2005) Reviews

After Nile's third album, In Their Darkened Shrines, took the metal world by storm, the upped the heaviness ante with their most popular album, Annihilation of the Wicked.  Nile cemented themselves as one of the most capable death bands of their time, but this album ensured their historical status.  After having heard this before and heard Darkened Shrines today, I had to play this one again.

Now this album just blasted brutality in my face once its acoustic intro was done and "Cast Down the Heretic" began.  This is Cryptopsy level brutality.  Of course, the next track, Sacrifice Unto Sebek, followed suite perfectly, without even letting up.  Although this is potentially a con considering that their previous album had made a point of displaying the diverse range of their one genre, the fact that they kept the brutality and technicality just as strong while keeping the song short says that this song acts more like an epilogue to our first song.  Our next track is the epic "User Maat Re," which starts off with an intro and style similar to the first two songs, so it doesn't feel very original.  However, its varying songwriting structures are consistently played throughout the whole nine minutes to keep it original.  But when "The Burning Pits of the Duat" started, it was obvious to me that this album wasn't going to change its pace like the previous album did.  In other words, it's only going to rely on the band to try and keep the most basic and generic sound that was already pioneered and perfected by Suffocation original.  Thankfully, the writing was still incredibly strong.

The album sacrifices much of the mythological and even horrific vibe of the previous album for more brutality, almost like they sold out.  But this is an exceptionally brutal album with a lot of raw talent behind it.  They obviously didn't sell out because they wanted more brutality and succeeded.  But they lost a piece of themselves thanks to the transition, so this almost cosmic vibe about their previous album was gone.  But the death metal performances themselves still denoted that this had an incredible amount of effort put into it, so I won't fault it too much.  Sameyness may be a slight problem, but some of the finest death metal performances I've heard are here, so I'll still consider it one of their best.  But I also feel like there's a bit of a case here like South of Heaven or Pleasure to Kill where the heaviest is considered the best based on that and not on the writing quality.

I have documented previously how I struggle with large chunks of death metal, especially the exaggerated violence and brutality. Overtly technical death metal doesn't really chime with me either as it's often staccato nature disrupts the flow of the tracks too much to my ears. Consequently I have a pool of favoured bands I tend to turn to for my death metal fix - Autopsy, Bolt Thrower and Vader for example. Near the very top of that list come Nile.

Nile were one of the first bands I got into upon my return to metal after my hiatus during most of the 1990s, via their Black Seeds of Vengeance and In Their Darkened Shrines albums, so I remember anticipating the release of  Annihilation of the Wicked with some relish. Luckily we Nile fans were not disappointed and with AotW Nile unleashed their tour de force. Though it is technically superb, it doesn't flog that technicality to the expense of the flow of the tracks, each of which run like a dream nor does it short-change on the heaviness front, battering the listener relentlessly with wave after wave of brutal riffs and some of the finest solos I have ever heard on a death metal album, such as those heard on Cast Down the Heretic and Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten. The Ancient Egyptian theme is a great motif but doesn't really have any defining impact on the actual music as we are mercifully spared any goofy, faux-authentic egyptian passages, save the odd intro or interjection such as the intro to User-Maat-Re and briefly during Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten. There is plenty of variation in pacing from hulking, almost doom-like passages to brutal headlong charges with the longer tracks making for some seriously epic death metal. Tracks like the title track and Cast Down the Heretic are honestly some of the finest death metal I have ever heard and the quality overall is exquisite, revealing a band that were absolutely on top of their game as both technicians and songwriters. One of my all-time favourite death metal releases

My introduction record to Nile, their fourth full-length offered a brilliant gateway into their brand of technical and brutal death metal.  Vast though it seemed in scope at the time the whole experience felt varied and accessible still.  Whether it was the far eastern promise on the strings or the looming beastly riffs that cemented the death metal credentials of the record, there was enough ability on show for the record to gain instant respect from this listener.

For me this record completed the band's golden run that started with 2000's Black Seeds Of Vengeance.  It engaged all the brutality of the preceding two records but also showed a much more mature and skilled delivery, complete with a story-telling to the song writing that made the whole experience even more compelling.  The multi-instrumental wizard that is Karl Sanders leads brilliantly on this release.  His supporting cast of Toler-Wade, Vesano and the brilliant Kollias play sterling roles in the execution of the album and Kernon's production job lets the music come across as vibrant as Landau's artwork suggests it will be.

The band for me went into a bit of a decline post-Annihilation of the Wicked culminating in the decidedly ordinary Vile Nilotic Rites in 2019.  But their 2005 release was a triumph in both design and content and is an album I still visit with regularity to this day.