There's Nile, and then there's death metal. There's no comparison to Nile within this genre, as the Americans are truly unique and in a league of their own. Annihilation of the Wicked drives inches thick stakes through whatever doubt there may have been about the band being able to outdo the predecessor, In Their Darkened Shrines [2002], which was a brilliant album, but take In Their Darkened Shrines and double it up, and you pretty much have Annihilation of the Wicked. That's how genius this album is. The band has down-toned the use of the Egyptian sounds a bit in favour of a more direct approach, and it suits the music. Apparently they have learned from the previous album on which the Egyptian samples were a little too present in the soundscape, but this time it's much more balanced, and it really pays off. The music is unmistakably Nile, but it sounds like the musicians have speculated intheir arts differently this time around; perhaps this is due to a more active writing role from Dallas Toler Wade, but I'm not exactly 100% sure.

I remember being in doubt whether Nile could possibly top themselves while the short acoustic intro "Dusk Falls Upon the Temple of the Serpent on the Mount of Sunrise" was played, but once the immensely fast and brutal "Cast Down the Heretic" sat in, almost every little bit of doubt I may have had vanished. Next up was "Sacrifice Unto Sebek" that with an almost equally swirling fury pulverized the last bits of doubt, and I started thinking about whether this music could get any more sonically obliterating and extreme than this, but apparently it could, and it got frightingly apparent as soon as "The Burning Pits of the Duat" launched its attack with a deadly dose of technical complexity rarely heard. I was literally speechless after that track. Another impressive song was "Lashed to the Slave Stick" with its old school and catchy attitude. The title track "Annihilation of the Wicked" sounded typical ultra heavy Nile, but with a slight twist, and I mean that in a positive way. The climax of the album was appropriately the epic and majestic closer "Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten", which perfectly rounds it all up with its doom-laden, slow and monumental riffing.

Annihilation of the Wicked is produced by Neil Kernon [Cannibal Corpse, Nevermore], and as expected the result is absolutely superb. At first I thought it sounded a little thin, but it's definitely not the case. It's clearer than the dim and somewhat muddy production on In Their Darkened Shrines. That of course lets the listener spot more of the many small details that are all over the album, but it doesn't compromise the all-out brutality that Nile is known for. People can argue whether they like Nile or not, but no one can really question the ingenuity and talent that this band displays. Fans of Nile will not be disappointed by Annihilation of the Wicked. It's simply stunning, and I can't find anything remotely negative about this album. For newcomers this is possibly the best place to start, as the album is a bit more accessible and straight forward than their previous couple of works. I'll round this review up by quoting guitarist and Nile mainman Karl Sanders; 'be prepared to be crushed'.