Nile (band)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nile <tr style="text-align: center;"><td colspan="3">Image:Nile16.jpg </td></tr>
Background information <tr><td>Origin</td><td colspan="2">Image:Flag of the United States.svg South Carolina, USA</td></tr><tr><td>Genre(s)</td><td colspan="2">Technical death metal Brutal death metal</td></tr><tr><td>Years active</td><td colspan="2">1993–present</td></tr><tr><td style="padding-right: 1em;">Label(s)</td><td colspan="2">Anubis Records Relapse Records Nuclear Blast</td></tr><tr><td>Website</td><td colspan="2">Official Site</td></tr><tr><th style="background: #b0c4de;" colspan="3">Members</th></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;" colspan="3">Karl Sanders Dallas Toler-Wade George Kollias Joe Payne</td></tr><tr><th style="background: #b0c4de;" colspan="3">Former members</th></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;" colspan="3">Jon Vesano Chief Spires Pete Hammoura Tony Laureano Derek Roddy John Ellers</td></tr>

Nile is a brutal/technical death metal band from South Carolina, USA assembled in 1993. Their music and lyrics are inspired by Ancient Egyptian mysticism, history, religion and art.

1 Biography
2 Music
3 Discography
4 Line-up
- 4.1 Former members
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Biography

Nile's music is mostly written by founding member and guitarist Karl Sanders. It combines traditional death metal with elements of Middle Eastern music, incorporating traditional Egyptian instruments into some of the songs. Nile's music is also characterized by its extreme complexity and speed, for which the band has received acknowledgement from many music fans and journalists.

The lyrical content is based on Karl Sanders' interest in Egyptology as well as other ancient Middle Eastern cultures such as Mesopotamia. Lengthy sleeve notes are included with the albums Black Seeds of Vengeance, In Their Darkened Shrines, and Annihilation of the Wicked albums, explaining the inspiration or source for the lyrics of each song. Also, some of the songs are based on the fictional work of H. P. Lovecraft, an author who has inspired many bands from various genres.

Karl Sanders has also released one solo album called Saurian Meditation.

In May 2006, Nile signed a new recording contract with Nuclear Blast Records. A new album is expected in 2007.

[edit] Music

Nile is noted under a genre named "technical death metal," which is considered a branch of death metal featuring odd time signatures and complex guitar riffs and solos. The band categorizes their music as "ithyphallic death metal", in reference to their epic Egyptian themes. Egyptian and Middle Eastern instruments are featured in some songs as well to help accent the themes more. They are one of the few bands who use the dropped A tuning.

Some also consider the band to be "brutal death metal," along with bands like Suffocation and Bolt Thrower due to their low-pitched vocals, churning guitar rhythms to melodic leads and relentless drumwork.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio releases

Festivals of Atonement (EP, 1995)
Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka (1998)
Black Seeds of Vengeance (2000)
In Their Darkened Shrines (2002)
Annihilation of the Wicked (2005)

[edit] Additional releases

Nile (Demo, 1994)
Ramses Bringer of War (Demo, 1997)
In The Beginning... (Compilation featuring 'Festivals Of Atonement' EP & 'Ramses Bringer of War' Demo, 2000)