intothewellsabyss

Jun 29, 20235 min read

Nile — At the Gate of Sethu

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

11 years ago today, the Gate of Sethu was opened!

On this day (June 29) in 2012, Technical Death Metallers Nile released their seventh full-length studio album “At the Gate of Sethu” in Europe via Nuclear Blast (July 3, 2012, in North America).

Background:

“At the Gate of Sethu”, the follow-up to 2009's "Those Whom The Gods Detest" was once again produced and mixed by Neil Kernon, who has worked with Nevermore, Cannibal Corpse, Queensrÿche and Deicide, among many others. The CD artwork was handled by Seth Siro Anton (Soilwork, Paradise Lost, SepticFlesh).

On May 25, 2012, the album's second track, "The Fiends Who Come to Steal the Magick of the Deceased", debuted on Noisecreep.

Nile mastermind Karl Sanders commented about the artwork;

"Seth Siro Anton has designed the cover. I have been a fan of SEPTICFLESH a long time, and as Seth expressed interest, I knew that he would deliver a great job. I would say his work is easily the best we've ever had. He has captured the darker side of the sound of NILE and reflected the music and ideas, the heart and soul of NILE are forming. Seth is a very talented man and understands exactly who we are."

Seth Siro Anton also commented, stating;

"It is no secret that I admire the powerful stylistic lines of the magical symbols that still transmit the aura of ancient Egypt, preserving in time the ancient mysteries. Also, I am fascinated from the final frozen moment of the flesh captured in an eternal sleeping stasis, at the completion of the mummification process. So, with a great pleasure I accepted the challenge, to visualize the new masterpiece of NILE, 'At The Gate Of Sethu'."

In an interview in 2012 with CobraMetal.net, Sanders commented about "At The Gate Of Sethu";

"Well, we started working on it in May of last year (2011) after we finished our European tour. We worked on that fucking record for 10 months straight, to the exclusion of all else. (Laughs) Long hours, every day."

Regarding the new album's concept, Karl said;

"It's in similar territory to other Nile records in that a lot of it stems from Ancient Egyptology and sort of has underlying modern themes tied in. We haven't abandoned our identity and I don't believe you should fuck over your fans. If your fans like what you do, and you change too much of what you do, fans don't like it. What matters to me is when I'm out on tour and I meet the actual fans and they share their thoughts…those are the people that I listen to. There's a lot of new ideas within the realm of what we do that we tried to incorporate. We studied real hard on the guitar and have lots of new riffs and musical ideas. There are a lot of surprises on the record."

When asked if fans could expect any guest appearances on the new Nile CD, Karl said;

"Jon Vesano is all over this record. (Our former singer and bass guitarist who we're still good friends with.) Jon did some guest vocals on "Those Whom The Gods Detest" and it made us realize all over again all the things we really liked about Jon's vocals. We wanted to incorporate some of his insanity. (Laughs) He's wicked, man. He knows how to channel that inner possession. He finds a way to summon it. It's great stuff."

At The Gate Of Sethu Lineup:

• Karl Sanders − guitars, vocals, bass, keyboards, glissentar, baglama saz

• Dallas Toler-Wade − guitars, vocals, bass

• George Kollias − drums

Guests:

• Jon Vesano − vocals

• Jason Hagan − vocals

• Mike Breazeale − vocals

Production:

• Neil Kernon − production, mixing, engineering

• Bob Moore − additional engineering

• Spiros Antoniou − artwork

"At The Gate Of Sethu" track listing (North American/European digipack):

01. Enduring The Eternal Molestation Of Flame

02. The Fiends Who Come To Steal The Magick Of The Deceased

03. The Inevitable Degradation Of Flesh

04. When My Wrath Is Done

05. Slaves Of Xul

06. The Gods Who Light Up The Sky At The Gate Of Sethu

07. Natural Liberation Of Fear Through The Ritual Deception Of Death

08. Ethno-Musicological Cannibalisms

09. Tribunal Of The Dead

10. Supreme Humanism Of Megalomania

11. The Chaining Of The Iniquitous

Bonus Tracks:

12. Enduring The Eternal Molestation Of Flame (instrumental)

13. The Inevitable Degradation Of Flesh (instrumental)

"At The Gate Of Sethu" track listing (European jewel case):

01. Enduring The Eternal Molestation Of Flame

02. The Fiends Who Come To Steal The Magick Of The Deceased

03. The Inevitable Degradation Of Flesh

04. When My Wrath Is Done

05. Slaves Of Xul

06. The Gods Who Light Up The Sky At The Gate Of Sethu

07. Natural Liberation Of Fear Through The Ritual Deception Of Death

08. Ethno-Musicological Cannibalisms

09. Tribunal Of The Dead

10. Supreme Humanism Of Megalomania

11. The Chaining Of The Iniquitous

On November 22, 2012, Nile released their music video for "Enduring the Eternal Molestation of Flame".

Critical Reception:

“At The Gate Of Sethu” received positive to mixed reviews from critics upon its release, with Zach Duvall from Last Rites & metalreview.com stating;

“At The Gate Of Sethu is a puzzling, enjoyable, and ultimately troubling album. After six albums and more than a decade of basically ruling the death metal world, Nile shouldn't need to do anything more than keep pace with themselves.”

While staff writer Pon at Sputnikmusic stated;

“At The Gate of Sethu” is another commendable effort from the band. George Kollias continues to impress behind the kit and Karl and Dallas still wield their guitars with surgical precision. While “At The Gate of Sethu” doesn’t soar to the heights that “Annihilation of The Wicked” or “Those Whom The God’s Detest” did, it still demonstrates that Nile are still a formidable force in the field of tech-death, nearly 20 years after their inception.”

Islander at nocleansinging.com said it best with the statement;

“I don’t know man. It’s fucking Nile. This band pretty much floors almost everyone in the modern death metal scene. Acquire “At the Gates of Sethu”, disregard all that other horse shit.”

"At The Gate Of Sethu" is Nile's highest charting album to date, hitting 131 on the U.S. charts.

About.com gave the album 4/5 stars, while Metal Review gave it 6.5/10 stars.

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

Click this link to listen to “At The Gate Of Sethu” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/at-the-gate-of-sethu/1479082570

Click this link to listen to “At The Gate Of Sethu” via Spotify: At The Gate Of Sethu https://open.spotify.com/album/7HfO0GQypzQ8jvoB49hlf3

Click this link to watch the official music video for "Enduring the Eternal Molestation of Flame": https://youtu.be/99KHIkENKBM

Click this link to follow the NILE on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nilecatacombs

Click this link to follow Karl Sanders on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarlSandersNileOfficial

Click this link to follow Dallas Toler-Wade on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063447145062

Click this link to follow George Kollias on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/georgekolliasofficial

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells

Nile — At the Gate of Sethu

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