Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Solkan (Nova Gorica) / Mostovna / Slovenia
Concert date: 15.04.2016
Attendance: 180
Ticket price: 25.00€
Back in 2011, Nile and Melechesh stopped in Treviso, Italy, on the »Those Whom The Gods Detest tour. It was the first big show I ever went to outside the local club scene. Last week, both bands and two more support acts rolled into KC Mostovna right here at home.
The night kicked off around half past seven with French death metallers Mithridatic. The five-piece play really fast death metal with touches of atmospheric black. Only a small crowd had gathered in front of the stage, which showed that the hour was too early for a lot of people. After two weeks on tour the singer looked visibly wiped out, but they still delivered a pretty confident set.
Next up were Italy’s Embryo, a band that’s been around since 2001 but only got more active in the last few years, and this was their third longer tour. They’re certainly not reinventing anything and stick to tried-and-tested recipes, but they stay interesting anyway, mostly thanks to the varied rhythms from drummer Enea. A spring on his pedal snapped mid-set and he played the rest of the song with his left foot, and he pulled it off so well that many people didn’t even notice. Their set flew by, and the hall got fuller by the minute as the first of the »bigger« bands drew closer.
Israel’s (now Netherlands-based) Melechesh don’t need much of an introduction. They put out a new record last year and were promoting the newer material on this tour. Their one-of-a-kind blend of Arabic music and metal is really something special, and the band sounds phenomenal; with a clear sound, a great pick of songs and tight-as-hell playing, they blew everyone away. They showed up with new bassist Tsel, and behind the kit for the second time that night sat Kevin Paradis, who had already played with Mithridatic earlier.
The band’s driving force, singer and guitarist Ashmedi, said he’d never been so happy to be on tour, since before that he’d spent almost three months in custody over a physical altercation with a stranger who had threatened to kill him in Jerusalem.
Their set was more than excellent, and I recommend catching them at Metaldays this year.
Finally, it was time for the last band of the night – American giants Nile. On the »What Should Not Be Unearthed« tour, named after their latest album, they played a few new songs along with material from their entire discography.
You wonder how it’s even physically possible to play such a demanding set every night on a month-long tour, but the Americans pulled it off with a huge dose of ease and relaxation, and guitarists Karl Sanders and Dallas Toler-Wade spent a lot of time engaging with the crowd, which of course didn’t stay indifferent.
Compared to Melechesh, the sound was a touch muddier, since it’s extremely hard to mix a band that plays such fast and complex music in very low tunings so that every detail comes through.
Their set went by in a flash, with no longer breaks, and a top-notch tech crew made sure everything ran smoothly. One of the best Slovenian drummers, Robert Kovačič, played a very important part in that, as he worked the whole tour as George Kollias’s drum tech.
Nile have proven once again that they deserve their spot among the biggest names in worldwide death metal, and even after a very long career they show no signs of slowing down.
Words: David Bordon
Setlist
NILE:
1. Ushabti Reanimator (intro)
2. Sacrifice Unto Sebek
3. Defiling the Gates of Ishtar
4. Kafir!
5. Hittite Dung Incantation
6. Call to Destruction
7. In the Name of Amun
8. Ithyphallic
9. The Howling of the Jinn
10. What Should Not Be Unearthed
11. The Inevitable Degradation of Flesh
12. Evil to Cast Out Evil
13. Sarcophagus
14. Lashed to the Slave Stick
15. Black Seeds of Vengeance
16. Khetti Satha Shemsu (outro)
Photo gallery
