Nile - In Their Darkened Shrines.

It is a balance of war and reverence. A ritual in its entirety, a fitting tribute to the Old Gods.

This is the album that made Nile in our opinion. It is just huge. 'Black Seeds of Vengeance' may have bloomed the war cries and horns in the background but 'In Their Darkened Shrines' sharpened the spears and lunged at the belly.

This slice of blackened death metal is brought to you by Nile mastermind/guitarist Karl Sanders and if you've heard a Nile album before you know what you are getting; power in spades and more than likely an Egyptian theme or twelve. That's not really fair as Nile execute this with greasy speed where it's needed, Tony Laureano's blast beats are crisp and punchy. He knows when to all out assault the snare and when to match the mood.

'Sarcophagus' and 'Unas, Slayer of the Gods' bring that mood to the fore, megaton weighted riffs and low growls all around your ears. Jon Vesano is electric as bassist/frontman, he has a towering, looming presence in his voice, equally raging and brooding.

'Blessed Dead' and 'Execration Text' displays guitarist Dallas Toller-Wades technical skill, his solo work has some of the most pleasing bends in all of death metal! Album closer 'Ruins' is a still desert track, ending the battery of riffs with a fade to black. This record continues to blow our minds 20 years on. It is a balance of war and reverence. A ritual in its entirety, a fitting tribute to the Old Gods.