Cautioning us against what would be most wisely left avoided Nile released their gut wrenchingly destructive effort What Should Not Be Unearthed last year. Having already treated us Brits to their premier league Death Metal back in September the band return once more into the tombs of The Dome in the catacombs of Tufnell Park.
[date]April 8th 2016[/date]
[venue]Tufnell Park, The Dome[/venue]
[city]London[/city]
[support_bands]Embryo, Melechesh[/support_bands]
Bringing with them a whole host of support the North Carolina metallers had a brilliant line up for us. Beginning the evening with Italian bred Embryo The Dome was vastly full particularly for an opening act. Though at first the band seemed to be finding their footing, once they had understood that repition of “Thank you London!” and really anything with the word London tacked on seemed to garner a swell of approval from our audience tonight. That being said Embryo’s sound had some slight issues nothing to do with our sound desk genie who seems to make everyone at The Dome sound better than ever but more to do with the band’s placement. Delivering good Death Metal, not great but good, the band just didn’t really fit in. Waiting for the Aeon-like bulldozing riff which just never materialised. Nevertheless do not mistake me for saying the band are bad, far from it, delivering tracks from their new full length but perhaps tonight slightly mismatched with the line up.
Needing no introduction particularly from the positively pulsating crowd Mesopotamain Metallers Melechesh return to London after their far too brief appearance at London’s Incineration Festival last year. Incense lit as the backing tracks transports North West London into the ancient annals of a time long since lost. Shattering the illusion as the band rip into “Temper Tempest Enlil” from the scorching Enki. Once again sound prevailing tonight riffs from our resident ambassador for Jerusalem Ashemdi works the crowd ripping out the likes of “Ladders To Sumeria” and many more. Despite their lengthy career the band have seldom dulled their claws with ever biting cuts from past and present. Pausing to set the scene for those who are unaware, Ashmedi was involved in an altercation in Jerusalem. Sadly ending in the singer being under house arrest for ten weeks. However now the man has been allowed to tour temporarily in order to perform for us adoring Metal heads. Thriving off this sense of limited freedom the man tonight is captivating.
Grinning ear to the band rip into Cavalera tune “Multiple Truths” galvanising our crowd tonight to collectively go insane as iron clad riffs appear thick and fast, after the command of “everyone bang your head!” as the arrival of Melechesh‘s ultimate weapon, groove is summoned the energy here tonight is tangible. Despite the recent state the band is in this hardly deters Ashmedi from once again commanding our troops into the final charge of “Rebirth Of The Nemesis“, our first glimpse of Death Metal ecstasy felt throughout the crowd tonight. As the ever evolving sections of the track lead to the crowd getting wilder and wilder the band confidently finish with a rock star style finish exiting after delivering a fantastic set. Melechesh might not come round too often but every opportunity to see the band should be savoured and not squandered.
“When you’re old and grey and your grand kids ask you, grandma, grandpa… What was Death Metal like? You can answer that YOU witnessed, Nile, in London performing “Unas Slayer Of The Gods!”
hurls out Karl Sanders to our London crowd tonight. Happiness and Death Metal hardly something you would expect to go hand in hand but tonight as the instrumental atmospheric introduction of “Ushabti Reanimator” welcomes Nile, the entire room is all smiles. Wasting no time the band launch into Annihilation Of The Wicked number “Sacrifice Unto Sebek” followed quickly by Black Seeds thrasher “Defiling The Gates Of Ishtar“. Now firmly warmed up, both band and fans, the room is awash with the transcendental melodies harking back to the primeval setting the scene for the arrival of “Kafir!”. Known for their technicality, its tracks like these that deliver such calculating precision executed to perfection whilst also retaining the groove aspects seeing upstairs chant the now eponymous lines “There is no god but god“.
Often through modern trickery bands can achieve the seemingly impossible, yet find it hard to pull of live. Returning back to their no nonsense roots Nile unleash new numbers “What Should Not Be Unearthed” along with “Call To Destruction” enabling for a churning of their own maelstrom. Yet what is undeniable tonight is the level of joy on stage and off. Such a niche market makes for truly devoted fans, who like myself have no doubt seen the band perform live before. This understanding leads to some particularly tender moments in the evening and no doubt warms even the most dessicated mummified of Death Metal hearts here tonight. Once again our soundman deserves a round of applause for creating absolutely pitch perfect balance. Owing to the low tuning of the band often, the riffs in particular can get lost in the mix yet tonight even old classic “Howling of The Jinn” sounds out perfectly.
The latest member to join the band is now full time bassist Brad Parris who performs absolutely flawlessly working somehow in tandem with the monster behind the kit Kollias who’s machine gun blast beats never dim. Potentially the best introduction to a track in Metal the smiling behemoth Sanders introduces Nile’s piece de resistance with the absolutely devastating one off rendition of “Unas Slayer Of The Gods“. Immediately doubling the size of an already large pit the track is an absolute easter egg seeing fans join one another in absolute bliss. Afte the twelve minute feast, “Sarcophagus” makes its presence known as we return to their darkened shrines. As a now stable four piece the band are potentially their most deadly incarnation yet. Stopping dead on the nail for that milli second silence in “Black Seeds Of Vengeance” its a testament to Nile’s musical ability. Yet without their sense of understanding, the unique and somehow relatable relationship with every single fan here in this room the band could have been easily passed over. Having released their strongest effort potentially to date Nile embody the ideologies of Death Metal that will see them as timeless edifices of the Death Metal movement.
