Nile - _In the Beginning_
(Hammerheart, 2000)
by: Paul Schwarz (8.5 out of 10)
The debut albums of bands discovered and exalted upon the unleashing of their second opus are often not worth speaking of, but for USA's Egypt-obsessed and brutally warped death metallers Nile this is certainly not the case. This welcome re-issue of earlier this year re-introduces 1995's _Festivals of Atonement_ to the international catalogue of availability and also includes the later _Ramasees Bringer of War_ EP -- though this latter rarity merely serves to demo a few of the frenetic numbers which later appeared on Nile's second exalted opus, _Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka_ [CoC #32]. _FoA_ is interesting for its stylistic differences, for though it is for the most part unmistakably Nile, it is Nile at a much reduced tempo from _ATKoNK_. Heady, powerful chugging and crushing outpourings like the monstrous opener "Divine Intent" do display the trademarks you'll be accustomed to if you've checked out _AtKoNK_, but the songs on _FoA_ extend often beyond the six or seven minute mark, bestowing upon them, and the whole record, a vaguely epic quality. The mere five tracks presented (plus the "Immortality Through Art" acoustic instrumental) clock in at thirty-two minutes, and that's including the sign-for-the-future, under-three-minute crush of "The Black Hand of Set". Nile's debut finds a comfortable spot between a low but rough death/thrash rumble and the dirty, doomed-out grind of Crowbar and others of a sludgy and rumbling nature. It may not be perfect in terms of songwriting and even sound, which nonetheless is rich and hard-edged, but _FoA_ is well worth owning, replete as it is with some of the band's best solos and some great, evocative moments.
(article published 12/8/2000)
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