Inspired by ancient civilizations and the savagery of modern society, NILE brought their devastatingly uncommon twist to Extreme Metal to Hawthorne Theatre in Portland, Oregon.  With four years of calculated preparation, they have emerged from their tomb with a masterpiece.  Vile Nilotic Rites is the latest album from the titans of Technical Death Metal.  The Vile Caustic Attack Tour is destined to tower above all others while dominating the landscape of Extreme Metal.  Along with their special guest, the latest incarnation of US Grindcore legends, Terrorizer, the night would be an avalanche of bloodthirsty madness and ancient ritual.

The night started off with a wave of Portland’s heaviest ambassadors of Extreme Metal with each band taking their own spin on the seemingly endless branches of the genre.  Starting off the night, Grim Ritual was a straight forward neck-wrenching tribute in the tradition of the American Death Metal bands that came before.  Up next, Petrification summoned a demon horde of auditory annihilation and flesh-eating decay with their throwback to old school Death Metal in promotion of their latest album, Hallow of the Void.  Portland’s favorite local metal heroes, Von Doom also rose from the ashes with their own unique blend of Melodic Death Metal and Thrash rolled into a fun tornado of destruction and from my perspective, had a damn great time doing it.

The ethos surrounding Terrorizer, one of the forefathers of Grindcore, is not only wrought with turmoil but of perseverance.  With their past and current roster including members of such legendary metal acts, Napalm Death, Morbid Angel and Monstrosity, this latest embodiment of the band is as abrasive as ever.  After two initial breakups and the loss of their founding guitarist, the late Jesse Pintado, Terrorizer battles on with drummer, Pete Sandoval at the helm as the last founding member of the band.  With bassist, Sam Molina taking up vocal duties and Lee Harrison picking up the guitar in lieu of the drums he is so well known for in metal circles.  The unholy trinity was on tour amidst the release of their latest album, Caustic Attack.  With their average song length rounding out at about 2 minutes, their set was a turbulent and violent maelstrom of riffs, blastbeats and violent destruction with no end.  Even their own devoted audience struggled to match the energy that pummeled them senselessly from the stage.

An archaic choir sang in a long-forgotten tongue while a glowing, blood-red hue washed over the crowd and a veil of brooding darkness swallowed Hawthorne Theatre.  NILE, the malevolent monarchs of technical death metal were touring in promotion of their latest call to destruction, Vile Nilotic Rites.  Up till now, front-man and band founder, Karl Sanders has been the driving force of NILE and for the first time, we were about to witness the fruit of this newly collaborative manifestation of the band.  With their triple vocal attack, guitarist, Brian Kingsland and bassist, Brad Parris added a unique and monstrous layer to their pyramid of guttural sound.  From the unchained chaos of “Sacrifice Unto Sebek” off of their 2005 offering, Annihilation of the Wicked, to the tortured chant of “Kafir!” from 2009’s Those Whom the Gods Detest, NILE’s devoted followers collectively raised their fists and voices in praise of their sovereign Tech Death Gods.

The Vile Caustic Attack Tour is the epitome of brutality. Calculated and extreme, NILE and Terrorizer are set to release a plague on mankind, leaving a trail of devastation wherever they set foot.  Catch these behemoths of Extreme Metal before you miss your chance.