RM: New Nile. Night. And. Day from the last one. Nile sounds hungry again. The guitars kick ass again. Partially thanks to these points, the drums also don't sound stale. Best of all, there are actual killer songs and riffs! So far, song two is my favorite.

BdV: Night and day, indeed.

I think there is especially a good development in the drum sound. It sounds more natural this time around. The sound is more organic, it breathes more. And Kollias is doing a lot with his playing to help grow that organic sound.

The vocals have gone downhill once again, though. There is an ugly one-dimensional quality to them, especially compared to the older albums. It does not get in the way of enjoying the album, but it's definitely a downer.

And I agree about the songs / riffs. There is finally something worth listening to again! It's still miles away from being a significant death metal record in regards to their first three albums, though. It has none of the rabid violence — it's still too calculated. But I guess going back to a more sloppy sound would be stupid. Eh. 

RM: It's hard for a band, particularly in the "more perfect than thou" top tier of technical death metal, to go backwards in terms of production. While it might be more cult, more special, more personality-infused, to make the music less perfect, it might not fly as well.

That said, you can immediately recognize any moment on the album as being made by the band Nile.

Thank goodness the Egyptiany bits didn't get more theatrical and plastic, but rather settled down into more organic territory.

With all the athleticism and improvements, still, this Nile record does have a lot of time that, although impressive and enjoyable, is not memorable. Four listens in, there are three songs that are remembered, and two are at the beginning. The rest remains in memory as Nile doing Nile, bigger and better than ever. It's essential as far as the latest achievement in death metal, but as an album of great songs, it isn't tip top. (8/10)

An album that is Nile through and through, and definitely worthy of the name. But after repeated listens, it still doesn't hold a candle to their earlier work. Even on its own, the record is just not memorable enough to warrant a very high grade.

Nile consists of stellar musicians, and as a death metal band, they have to look up at none. While they have seemingly left behind their overtly sterile and theatrical style of the last two albums, they still haven't rediscovered that intense, thrashing spark that ignited their first three. (7/10)