Nile, wtf?

[7thstringofa7thstring]

What's up with the mix, it sounds really well thin and unpolished to me.

The snare is possibly the worst snare sound I've heard since Saint Anger

And what's with the Vocals? don't think they fit here, I admit, I like that they're trying to do something different though, it is a nice change though.

 

[Eptaceros]

Why? You can only listen to angry bumble bees in soda cans for so long. There is a point when it becomes laborious to listen to something, because the production is horrid.

Right. And the fact that you see anything that isn't polished as "bees in soda cans" just shows how unfortunate it is to reduce yourself to the highest quality production. In relation to polished recordings, everything else is going to sound shitty to your ears, especially if you're used to only listening to records with "perfect" production (see: this thread).

And I strongly oppose the second half of your post. Repeated listening can only benefit you. Part of what's beautiful about imperfect production is that your mind is constantly at work filling in the gaps in the audio, kind of like reading a book! And if you're a musician--which I'm going to assume, seeing as how this is a guitarist's forum--then your relative pitch can only get better if your mind is constantly working to distinguishes pitches.

No perfect production can beat the replay value of albums that require involved listening.

 

[Blackheim]

IMHO opinion, the song sounds that was not eq'ed properly and I wish this is not the final product. It sounds like Nile's early recordings... I think that the problem with most people here and Nile fans is that they set the bar so high with the 3 latest records than one can only expect perfection (Those Whom the Gods Detest is by far one of the greatest Tech-Death albums I heard IMHO).

The song is NOT that bad, but it is certainly not as good as one of their previous efforts.

However, please remember, this is a sneak peek, so do not judge them until the album is out.

 

[The Uncreator]

Read all the comments expecting to be disappointed.

Thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[Nile]

Should have stuck with Erik Rutan. Man knows what he's doing.

 

[The Only Factor]

I don't know how people can say it sounds like the first few Nile albums... The first few albums IMHO sounded okay, but it's like everything was cluster-fucked together. you couldn't make out the guitars at all unless you had it cranked. The last few albums were really good - Ithyphallic and Those Whom The Gods Detest - everything was audible and evenly mixed.

The new track is interesting and definitely different for them. But it'll be more interesting to hear the rest of the album. And I'm sure that it'll still be better than Morbid Angel's last/newest album...

 

[Eptaceros]

Lots of opinions in this thread, let's clear some things up with band info.

From another forum:

For everybody who is wondering about the vocals. Here is a statement of Karl Sanders (copied from the official Nile Forum):

"Right on. For anyone interested in the Vocal Breakdowns in this [new] song;

The Part that goes "I will Erase You" is Mike Breazeale and Jason Hagan Harmonizing
The Part that goes "I am Re" Is Mike Breazeale
The very first growl , the last growl , and the two demon possesion growl/screams over the instrumental break is Jon vesano
The rest is me , doing a couple of different voices - the first and very last verse is a normal Karl subteranna "mummy growl" , then there is the Sobe Karl voice - kind like the old school aforementioned "coroner vox" and a few variations where the different voices are layered together for sickness .

The idea is /was to branch out somewhat , and incorporate a little variety in the vocals beyond ( in the words of our detractors) the same old thing .

[...]

"Fiends" happens to be the one random track that doesn't have Dallas - but it does have a wide variety of guests .

[...]

Yes, the vox on Fiends ARE different."

From Neil Kernon on another forum:

This song is a bit of an anomaly in that it is the only one which relies on rhythm guitars to incorporate all the melodies within the song. There are no solos, or additional harmony guitars which are a common Nile addition, so the guitar sound was made as clear as possible rather than using the usual dirtier Nile sound.

This is something that has bothered the guys for years, Karl in particular, where he feels that with all the usual distortion in the guitar sound a lot of the note clarity is obscured by the fur that all the gain provides. So, this time round, and in this song in particular, the cleaner approach was the way we chose to go.

There are plenty of different types of songs and riffs on the new record, but this particular song required a lot more note clarity than Nile has ever had before, so that's the reason behind the decision to go in this direction.

this song is pretty much the dark horse on the record on several levels. It is the only one that doesn't feature Dallas on vocals, plus there are no solos or additional guitars, so it's not really typical.

It also has lots of tricky time signatures in it, and lots of crazy drumming, which can make it sound a bit fragmented at first, but I honestly think this song is very concise and well put together.

This album has a lot going on and is very aggressive as well. I hope you guys dig it as much as we do. It was a lot of work.

Regarding the sound on AOTW, after over a year of living with it, the guys decided that that there was too much low end on the album overall, so on Ithy they asked me to take lots of low end out, from the guitar sound, to less bass, and also less lows on the kick. It wasn't really my choice, but we had to give it a try.

After Ithy came out, it was clear that there had been something of an over-reaction to the thickness and somewhat cloudy mix of AOTW, so on Those Whom they just left things up to me again.

From that point on we have been trying to find the best balance to be able to hear everything as clearly as possible. When you're playing songs at upwards of 280BPM, it becomes increasingly difficult to have "low" low end anywhere,as things just fart out the speakers unless the sounds are tailored to the faster tempos. When you consider that 1/4 notes at, say, 282 bpm means George is playing up to 1,128 kicks per minute, it's important to be able to hear those clearly, rather than them being soft and mushy, which they naturally sound at those speeds, simply because the hits actually end up being so soft due to the crazy tempos.

That being said, I try to get things as defined as possible from a playing pov, and also a sonic pov. There have to be some compromises of course, but those are made in the best interest of hearing the parts/notes clearly, rather than having a fuller but indistinct sounding mix.

You guys can expect the full gamut of Nile atmospheres, mood and intensity from this album.

 

[rainbowbrite]

Right. And the fact that you see anything that isn't polished as "bees in soda cans" just shows how unfortunate it is to reduce yourself to the highest quality production. In relation to polished recordings, everything else is going to sound shitty to your ears, especially if you're used to only listening to records with "perfect" production (see: this thread).

And I strongly oppose the second half of your post. Repeated listening can only benefit you. Part of what's beautiful about imperfect production is that your mind is constantly at work filling in the gaps in the audio, kind of like reading a book! And if you're a musician--which I'm going to assume, seeing as how this is a guitarist's forum--then your relative pitch can only get better if your mind is constantly working to distinguishes pitches.

No perfect production can beat the replay value of albums that require involved listening.

I never mentioned perfect production. I mentioned production causing laborious listening. It is the equivalent of reading a short story with horrible, inaccessible syntax and grammar. There is nothing beautiful about guessing what someone is trying to communicate to you when they haven't put in the effort to make it understandable eg horrid production. Every time I listened to St. Anger (which was probably 3 times the week it was released, I really wanted it to be good) whenever I heard the snare it was like someone yelling "cocksucker" in my ear. The same thing when I try and listen to any death metal pre-2000--angry bumble bees all day long.

 

[Necris]

I think you just like to complain.

 

[havocvulture10]

Can someone recommend a couple of absolutely standout Nile tracks? I've seen SO many people loving this band and everything I've heard to date just sounds like boring riff salad to me. I have to be missing something...

This track didn't really do anything for me - the drumming was ok and for the most part I like the guitars, but the mix is pretty brutal and the vocals at time are....not good.

"Permitting the Noble Dead to Descend into the Underworld"

By far my favorite Nile track. Give it a few thorough listens good sir, it's off of Those Whom the Gods Detest.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

I think you just like to complain.

Isn't that what everyone does on music discussion forums?

 

[Eptaceros]

I never mentioned perfect production. I mentioned production causing laborious listening. It is the equivalent of reading a short story with horrible, inaccessible syntax and grammar. There is nothing beautiful about guessing what someone is trying to communicate to you when they haven't put in the effort to make it understandable eg horrid production. Every time I listened to St. Anger (which was probably 3 times the week it was released, I really wanted it to be good) whenever I heard the snare it was like someone yelling "cocksucker" in my ear. The same thing when I try and listen to any death metal pre-2000--angry bumble bees all day long.

Laborious listening is exactly what I'm praising here, if you can't see the benefit in it, then why are you listening to metal in the first place? Sure, critically listening to an album dozens of time takes patience, but it's worth the initial struggle. Not only does it train your ears to pick up sequences and intervals, but you fall in love with an album after you "click" with the sound and begin to unveil the mysteries. An album that requires dozens of listens may not be flashy or grab you initially, but it gradually becomes addictive. Unclear production is not "a short story with grammar mistakes" it's a dense novel that conceals it's meaning between the lines.

 

[AborteD]

Why? You can only listen to angry bumble bees in soda cans for so long. There is a point when it becomes laborious to listen to something, because the production is horrid.

Dude, you made me laugh for the whole day that is coming.

 

[yellowv]

Call me crazy but I dug the shit out of that track.

 

[Ulvhedin]

Love it, nuff said

 

[Loomer]

I get buttmad when DM is produced to be anything BUT angry bees in a swamp.

 

[Captain Shoggoth]

I quite like the new Nile stuff we've seen, not love, but quite like.

I'm still excited as hell for this album, the last one blew my mind.

 

[ridner]

I like the song. It is a bit "odd" but Nile really isn't a "standard" Death Metal band in my opinion. I know the album will kill.

 

[Goatchrist]

I listened to it a couple of times now and I came to the conclusion that I really like this song!
I must admit that the production could be better(maybe it isn't the final version).
But I really dig the step they've made, I'm really excited to hear it and share the stage with them in August.

 

[rainbowbrite]

Laborious listening is exactly what I'm praising here, if you can't see the benefit in it, then why are you listening to metal in the first place? Sure, critically listening to an album dozens of time takes patience, but it's worth the initial struggle. Not only does it train your ears to pick up sequences and intervals, but you fall in love with an album after you "click" with the sound and begin to unveil the mysteries. An album that requires dozens of listens may not be flashy or grab you initially, but it gradually becomes addictive. Unclear production is not "a short story with grammar mistakes" it's a dense novel that conceals it's meaning between the lines.

You are now questioning why I listen to metal because I think large portions of genres suffer from subpar production making it not worth my attention? If Rick Rubin can figure it out in 1986, what is the excuse for these bands? But that's what makes them special! They have the thuper secrets! The esotericism extreme metal fans attach to the music is as silly as listening to your typical fixie riding hipster talking about, well, anything.

PS: I do enjoy receiving all the negative reputation and comments regarding my ignorance. If someone disagrees with you, it must mean they are stupid.