NILE (2019) Live Concert Review!

Special guests: TERRORIZER, CENTRAL DISORDER, CRUSADIST, BLOOD OF THE WOLF

Posted on November 22, 2019 by Michael Juvinall in Concert Review, Features, Heavy Metal // 0 Comments

Venue: The Forge – Joliet, Illinois
Date: November 13, 2019
Special guests: TERRORIZER, CENTRAL DISORDER, CRUSADIST, BLOOD OF THE WOLF
Reviewed by Michael Juvinall – Horror Patch
All Photos Copyrighted by Michael L. Juvinall

Greenville, South Carolina is home to technical death metal outfit, NILE. This band is rather unique because its music and lyrics are inspired by ancient Egypt and Eastern mysticism. The band and most of its members are veteran musicians. They formed in 1993 and have been going ever since. The band has paid their dues and are now headlining shows all over the world. In November, the band set out on their own massive American “A Vile Caustic Attack” tour in which they are currently in the middle of.

As the headliner, the band stormed the stage and kicked off their set with, “Sacrifice Unto Sebek”. As the band started up, so did the moshers with a circle pit that lasted pretty much the entire set length. It wasn’t a sold-out crowd on this night but there was still a fairly large crowd in attendance, and they were raucous and loud as hell.

Nile’s set wasn’t heavily geared towards their just released new album, Vile Nilotic Rites, there were only three songs from the new album and the rest of the set was a good mix of all their past albums. I was pleased to see that and they played many of their great older hits.

The band was led by their founder and only remaining original member, Karl Sanders on lead guitar and vocals. He can shred like nobody’s business! He’s an amazingly technical guitar player. Brian Kingsland was on rhythm guitar with Brad Parris on bass guitar. I know I say this with most headlining bands but they were very tight on stage. All are excellent musicians, which is why they’re now headlining shows. Something to note, the front three of Sanders, Kingsland, and Parris all share vocal duties on most songs. It’s kind of unique to watch them switch back and forth between the three of them on vocals.

Nile put on a really great show and sounded incredible. It was a real pleasure to watch them perform. I would definitely take in a show of theirs again on the next tour. As with most headliners these days, the only complaint I have is that they only played for 70 minutes.

4 out of 5 Pentagrams!

Setlist:

Sacrifice Unto Sebek
Defiling the Gates of Ishtar
Kafir!
Call to Destruction
Long Shadows of Dread
In the Name of Amun
The Fiends Who Come to Steal the Magick of the Deceased
Vile Nilotic Rites
Snake Pit Mating Frenzy
The Howling of the Jinn
Sarcophagus
4th Arra of Dagon (Outro Only)
Black Seeds of Vengeance

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Direct support for the night came from veteran on-again-off-again grindcore band, TERRORIZER. The reason I say that is due to the fact, this Los Angeles group has had two separate hiatuses since 1986 totaling nine years when they weren’t together, but that’s neither here nor there. They have still been around for a long time and know their craft very well.

The band was given a good amount of time to perform their set, which was nearly as long as the headliners had. They played for 55 minutes. Prior to seeing them perform, I was not very familiar with this band. I had heard a few of their songs before but they were nothing memorable to me. Terrorizer actually surprised me, which doesn’t happen very often. I was caught off-guard at how much I enjoyed seeing them play and hearing their music live. I’m not a grindcore fan at all and I really liked their music. They were much better than I expected them to be. The band is only a trio but played well.

One of the things about grindcore and any “core” group, in particular, is the penchant for micro-songs. Some of their songs only lasted for a minute or two. I find this annoying as hell!

The real bright spot of the band is their drummer and only original member, Pete Sandoval. He is one of the most intricate and proficient drummers I have ever seen perform. He is widely regarded as one of the fastest drummers in metal today. It is said that he is “the father of the blast beat”. He is incredibly talented and watching him play the skins was something I won’t soon forget.

3.5 out of 5 Pentagrams!

Unfortunately, I do not have a setlist for this show.

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Chicago’s own CENTRAL DISORDER was the third opening band for the night. These guys play death/thrash metal. Their vocalist, Rob Peto was a standout. For a regional band, these guys are better than expected. They are slowly working to become a national act and have opened for some pretty big names in the scene including Exodus, Sepultura, and Mushroomhead. They played for 25 minutes.

3 out of 5 Pentagrams!

No setlist was available for this band.

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The second opener was another Chicago band, the death thrasher quintet, CRUSADIST! On their website, they describe their sound as epic battle metal and that suits them. These guys are another regional act trying to expand outward. They play in Illinois and most of the surrounding states. They too have opened for big national and international bands such as Exmortus, Hatchet, and Vital Remains. In such a short amount of time, Crusadist has made a huge mark on the Chicago metal scene. They have only been a band for two years. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for them.

I enjoyed their sound and they have a good stage presence. All in the band were good musicians and played well. Frontman and vocalist Shaun Albro was great at working the crowd and had great vocals. They played for 30 minutes.

3 out of 5 Pentagrams!

No setlist available for this show.

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The initial opening band was the third Chicago based band of the night, the blackened death metal act, BLOOD OF THE WOLF. This show marks the second time I’ve seen BOTW perform and I remember the first time thinking how impressed I was with them. After seeing them again, I liked them even more.

They’ve been together as a band for about six years and keep maturing as a band as well. They consist of Mike Koniglio on guitar and vocals, Frank Garcia on guitar, Christopher Grimes on bass, and Rick Hernandez on drums. These dudes are excellent musicians and are heavy as hell! Koniglio has great growls on vocals. The combination of Garcia on lead guitar and Koniglio on rhythm guitar is a good pair. Their songs have good sounding licks/riffs and offer face-melting heaviness. I’m looking forward to seeing these guys again. They played for 30 minutes.