Live Show: Nile, Hideous Divinity, Intrepid, Pestifer
Place: RCJC Het Entrepot, Brugge Belgium
Date: September 14th, 2024
Live Correspondent: Nikos Manousis

With their crushing new album “The Underworld Awaits Us All” in town, the beloved Death Metallers NILE kicked off their European tour, and the chance to see them live couldn’t be missed! Along with them, were three other bands: the Italians HIDEOUS DIVINITY, the Estonians INTREPID, and the Belgians PESTIFER. All the bands were coming from the Death Metal scene, and the outcome promised to be devastating. The concert took place in Bruges, Belgium, at Het Entrepot, a concert club with total capacity of 1,000 people. For this particular concert, only the lower level was opened.

The concert started with PESTIFER, who play cosmic Death Metal, exciting those who love NOCTURNUS, as just a glance at the Belgians’ logo is enough to see how much they’ve been influenced by them. Their set lasted half an hour, and although the band gave everything, it became tiring at some point, as they are quite progressive for my taste.

Next band on stage was INTREPID, who play Old School Death Metal and delivered a devastating performance. The five Estonian guys gave all they got, gaining quite a few fans. The band was tight, with good sound, and the vocalist drew our attention with his performance. Check them out if you enjoy DEATH and early CANNIBAL CORPSE.

The truth is that I would have preferred another name as the second band, rather than the Italian HIDEOUS DIVINITY. While they released the noteworthy album “Unextinct” this year, which was the basis of their setlist, and have generally built a respectable career, I’m not particularly impressed by them. This was confirmed during their live performance. At times, the guitar sound was muddled, and I think the fact that they perform with only one guitarist does them a disservice. Perhaps they should consider adding a second guitarist for their concerts to achieve a better sound. Nonetheless, the Italians put in a solid effort for 45 minutes and delivered a respectable performance.

The moment of the mighty NILE has finally come! The venue was packed, and the band took the stage to a rapturous welcome, starting with “Sacrifice Unto Sebek” from the album “Annihilation of the Wicked”, continuing powerfully with “Defiling the Gates of Ishtar” from the monumental album “Black Seeds of Vengeance”.

The Americans played a total of 13 songs, and their most recent album “The Underworld Awaits Us All” was represented with three tracks (you can read THE GALLERY‘s review concerning this album, HERE). The sound was excellent, the band gave everything on stage, with Karl Sanders literally sweating, while Kollias played as an octopus behind the drums! I was struck by the fact that Kollias played with his eyes closed, as he was deeply immersed in the music, just like the other bandmates were. They showed incredible passion, with no sign of weakness at any point of the concert. The audience cheered for NILE after each song, although there weren’t any extreme reactions, except in “Lashed to the Slave Stick” and “Sarcophagus”. Their performance ended with the anthem “Black Seeds of Vengeance.” Then the crowd requested from NILE to play more songs but the band didn’t fulfilled our wish and, after Sanders greeted everyone in the front row, lights and music went on and we all started leaving the venue.

Overall, it was an exceptionally intense and enjoyable Death Metal show, with NILE proving that, even after many years in their career and several line-up changes, they remain really strong. The organization was flawless, the sound very good, and the other bands did also their best. The only negative was the prices of alcohol and beer. The beer was supposed to cost 3 euros (according to the menu), but after you bought tokens and went to buy it, you had to pay 4 euros, given a small cup of low-quality beer. Unfortunately, there were no other options. Excluding this detail, the night can be considered as a success, and we enjoyed Death Metal for about five hours.

NILE’s set list:

Sacrifice Unto Sebek
Defiling the Gates of Ishtar
To Strike With Secret Fang
Kafir!
Call to Destruction
Vile Nilotic Rites
Stelae of Vultures
In the Name of Amun
Lashed to the Slave Stick
Sarcophagus
Long Shadows of Dread
Chapter for Not Being Hung Upside Down on a Stake in the Underworld and Made to Eat Feces by the Four Apes
Black Seeds of Vengeance

Live Correspondent: Nikos Manousis
Design, Editing & Text Correction: Alexandros Soultatos
Photos: Nikos Manousis
Videos: Nikos Manousis
External Links: NILE – Official Page
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