Nile maybe a huge force in Death Metal today but at one point however at one point they were the upcoming of what people called “the next force of Morbid Angel’. They had the same characteristics yet had just enough to differentiate themselves from their fellow brethren of influences.
Their EP ‘Festival of Atonement’ is an offering that while stands out from the rest of their discography, isn’t quite all that unlike their early studio outputs. The EP leads off with the song ‘Divine Intent’ a song that begins with their signature Ancient Egyptian interludes before transitioning into a moderately fast paced Tremolo picked affair similar to the likes of Morbid Angel and Krisiun. Guitar rhythms that interlock with drum patterns that often chases itself around different cadences and melodies throughout the song. This track is a great way to introduce the band’s overall presentation in sound. An act that while they are explicit in who their influences are often showcases how they are able to stand out above them by utilizing more Phrygian and weird Egyptian scales and chunky guitar rhythms used throughout the demo. Not only does this give the music more of an identity it evaluates the replay value by giving the music more substantial value.
Aside from that the band will occasionally have the usage of non-traditional instruments such as flutes like in the song ‘Wrought’ before a really epic yet evil sounding guitar solo appears in said song. The flutes may sound synthetic as they are clearly using a keyboard for them but this minor inconvenience may not bug most listeners.
While this EP is pretty short, the material here is so dense for the time that it never undershoots it’s welcome let alone overstays it. It’s quite the heavy and a neat piece of history for the band. One I recommend searching out preferably on the ‘In The Beginning’ compilation that also features the demo ‘Ramses Bringer of War’. Quite the incredible and enjoyable listen I may say so myself.
