Nile has been at the forefront of old-school American death metal for a number of years now, ever since their album Amongst The Catacombs Of Nephren-Ka hit the streets in 1998. Much has been made of their fascination of Egypt and Middle Eastern rites, though to an extent this has been overstated. True, their lyrics are steeped with references to Egyptian gods the like, but musically such influences are slight, mostly relegated to the occasional intro or interlude (two fine examples are found on the Nephren-Ka album, these being "Die Rache" and the intro to "Ramses Bringer Of War". No, the musical focus is brutal, heads-down thrashing death metal to the core, flawlessly played and executed. Truly one of the best of the field.