Wake Up To Death At Your Door

Nile's Fear leaves no doubt about the direction this newest installment to their catalog will take when the first spine shattering riff, courtesy of guitar virtuosos Matt Carver and Jackson Araya, skipping straight past the experimental interludes of 'Warlock' and the technical build-ups of 'Human Death Fields'. The song progresses nicely, with no outstanding characteristics other than a strong bass solo by David Demmel. A strong album start, though there isn't much to seperate it from run of the mill melodic death metal. 7.5/10

Spared By A Coma

A slightly better though out track then the previous one, 'Spared by A Coma' manages to take a rather common song structure and infect it with a variety of different riffs, ranging from poly-rythmic chromatic triplets to crisp and melodic leads, over which drummer Lucas Adler seems to switch on to auto-pilot, adding some un-conventional yet mildly predictable drum fills. Overall, this track picks up where the last one left off, expanding on this new shift to a more straight-forward sound, without providing any jaw-dropping uniqueness. 8/10

Cancerous Bullets

This is where the album finally kicks off for me. The thrashing riffage is tight, as is expected, and technically demanding, yet the band finally seems to land back in their home territory, blending different styles with their own special Nile's Fear sound. In particular the guitar-bass harmonies, well thought out drum solo, and vocals, which abandon the past 2 tracks strict death metal growl for a more sophisticated mix of raspy singing and thrash grunts, power this song forward, making it one of the better pieces on this album. 9.5/10

1349 (Corpses)

For me this is the only real disappointment Nile's Fear has offered us. In their quest to create something new, they have crafted a hybrid of progressive metal with old school thrash, which under certain circumstances might work out, but in this case ultimately fails to deliver. The 2 styles are blended rather sloppily, and in particular the technical riffing needs to be tight and above all else brutal, but it comes out as rather clumsy and light-weight compared to some other gems on this album. A filler at best. 4/10

Fate Takes A Turn For The Worst

Carrying on from the success of 'Cancerous Bullets', this song stresses the new found combination of infectiously catchy groove oriented riffs with melodic and technical proficiency, an style which could become quite career defining if they learn how to expand upon it. Although the shred-tastic soloing may get old after 5 songs straight, it is a huge step up from the blunder of '1349', and justly lands a spot right up near the top of the album. A graceful recovery, matching the best tracks of this album toe-for-toe. 8.5/10

Boy In The Bloody Pajamas

The perfect compliment to 'Fate Takes A Turn For The Worst', this 28 minute masterpiece doesn't present itself as a art piece as much as it does a flowing line of thought, never repeating itself nor becoming run-on. The acoustic work on this song is mind-blowing, a well needing turn away from the slightly over used pure shredding, and Matt's vocals are brilliant, for they don't just tell a story through lyrics, but also through melody. The brief reign of military snares and heavy guitars sets up the perfect contrast for the following clean passage, which beautifully mixes victoriousness with absolute horror. All hail Nile's Fear/ 10/10

Bury The Bones Of Your Martyrs

An interesting trip away from the previous work. I know that I'll only receive a hoard of hate-mail for this, but 'Bury The Bones Of Your Martyrs' is most easily described as an interesting take on prog metal, injected with mediocre metal-core, which is better suited for the next album from The Wicker Man. Don't get me wrong, this song is rather good, but it only repeats upon other band's innovations, and when compared to those it falls rather short. Much better than I would've anticipated if you had told me they were going to have metal-core vibes on one of their tracks, but they really should stick to what they do best. 7.5/10

Life Is An Unholy Thing

A strong pick, this track utilizes Jackson's lead skills to their fullest potential. The various riffs and arpeggios are interesting and fresh, yet they are missing some of that wow-factor that gave such gems such as 'Cancerous Bullets' that extra boost that made you instantly remember that this particular riff belongs to this song, but by the second or third time through you should have absorbed enough of it to remember it. Lucas' drumming is rather predictable, and it seems they could use a bit more balance, for Jackson's playing over-shadows everyone else. There is more work to be done, but a good sign that their headed in the right direction.8/10

The Words Still Echo

Definitely the oddest of the 10 songs. The use of various electronics and synthesizers will turn off the more close minded metal heads, but will have fans of experimental music screaming for more. The combination of only occasional guitar and drums allows David's bass playing to really shine, not to mention the interesting Pro Tools composition, formally credited to friend of The Wicker Man fame Charlie Haner. A solid and well done departure from an otherwise metal album. 8/10

Into A Strange New World

Once again, Nile's Fear has strayed off into the vast expanse of music, this time focusing on the moving prowess and skill of Iron Maiden. Although I have criticized them multiple times now for not staying true to themselves, I must say that to their credit this modern take on the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal is quite good, and doesn't feel like it's quite as much of a copy as the previous songs, and it actually carries strong traces of Nile's Fear's unique playing style. A powerful finishing track, which sums up the quality of the album I think. 8.5/10


Overall: 8/10