''Black Seeds of Vengeance'' is the second album by American

technical death metal Technical death metal (also referred to as tech-death) is a musical subgenre of death metal that began and developed in the early- to mid-1990s, with particular focus on challenging, demanding instrumental skill and complex songwriting. Techni ...

band

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

, released on September 5, 2000, through

Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The label was ...

. It was the first album in Nile's discography to mark a more complex musical direction, as well as feature extensive liner notes in the booklet, written by

Karl Sanders Karl Sanders (born June 5, 1963) is an American singer and guitarist, most widely known as the founding member of the ancient Egyptian-themed technical death metal band Nile. Early life Before creating Nile, Sanders was in a thrash metal ...

to explain the concept and themes behind each song. It also was the band's first album recorded with vocalist/guitarist

Dallas Toler-Wade Dallas Toler-Wade (born June 6, 1974) is an American musician, best known for his work in the ancient Egyptian-themed technical death metal band Nile. He is currently the guitarist, lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the metal band Narc ...

(who performed with the band until 2017), and features

Derek Roddy Derek Roddy (born August 28, 1972) is an American drummer and snake breeder, originally from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. His ability to record entire drum tracks in one or two takes earned him the nickname "One Take". Derek has gained a reputa ...

as a session drummer, temporarily replacing previous drummer Pete Hammoura who left the band due to injuries sustained while touring. Bassist Chief Spires left shortly after touring for the album.

Critical reception and legacy

Sean Palmerston of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' called the album "some of the most brutal American death metal to ever be released" and said it was one of the top five metal releases of the year. In 2020, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 2000 by ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'' magazine. In another issue of ''Metal Hammer'', founding member

described the album as a "terrible fucking mix", but when asked about the album's retrospective he said "it touched people. They were able to get something they wanted from it, which I believe is the songs, the violence, the energy, the darkness of it. That’s what matters. This record is far from perfect, but there is a vibe to it… there’s a definite violence. If I had to choose between violence and evil or technical perfection, I choose violence and evil!”

Track listing

Personnel

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

s *

- guitars, vocals * Chief Spires - bass, vocals *

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, vocals ;Additional Musicians * Pete Hammoura - vocals, drums on "To Dream of Ur" * Boz Porter - vocals on "Defiling the Gates of Ishtar" * Mostafa Abd el Aziz -

Arghul The ''arghul'' ( ar, أرغول or يرغول), also spelled ''argul'', ''arghoul'', ''arghool'', ''argol'', or ''yarghul'', is a musical instrument in the reed family. It has been used since ancient Egyptian times and is still used as a tradit ...

on "Invocation of the Gate of Aat-Ankh-es-en-Amenti" * Ross Dolan - vocals on "Khetti Satha Shemsu" * Gary Jones - vocals on "Defiling the Gates of Ishtar", "Masturbating the War God" and "Khetti Satha Shemsu" * Bob Moore - vocals on "Khetti Satha Shemsu" * Aly et Maher el Helbney - respirations on "The Nameless City of the Accursed" * Scott Wilson - lead vocals on "To Dream of Ur", backing vocals on "Khetti Satha Shemsu" * Mohammed el Hebney - additional vocals on "Khetti Satha Shemsu" ;Production * Bob Moore - engineering, mixing, producer * Wes Benscoter - cover art * Dave Shirk - mastering * Karl Sanders - producer * Adam Peterson - graphics, imagery

References

{{Authority control Nile (band) albums 2000 albums Relapse Records albums Albums with cover art by Wes Benscoter