Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka

Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka is the debut studio album by American death metal band Nile. The album was released on April 28, 1998, through Relapse Records. The album is considered to be their breakthrough record. In contrast with the following album, Black Seeds of Vengeance, the songs are much shorter in length than the songs featured on later Nile albums. The album is the only one besides Ithyphallic to not include Karl Sanders's liner notes explaining each song.

Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka
Studio album by
Nile
Released28 April 1998
Recorded1998
StudioThe Sound Lab, Columbia, South Carolina
GenreTechnical death metal
Length33:07
LabelRelapse
ProducerBob Moore, Earl Sanders
Nile chronology
Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka
(1998)		 Black Seeds of Vengeance
(2000)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

The title of the album is a reference to the H. P. Lovecraft story The Outsider. The phrase is featured in the song "Beneath Eternal Oceans of Sand" which has lyrics paraphrased from the aforementioned tale. In Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, Nephren-Ka was an Egyptian Pharaoh whose unspeakable cult worship led him to be stricken from almost all Egyptian records. The catacombs where he is buried are referenced in several Lovecraft stories as well as many stories by other mythos authors. The song "Smashing the Antiu" is about a festival celebrating the destruction of the Antiu, a people with whom the early Egyptians were frequently at war.

The orchestral intro on "Ramses Bringer of War" is strongly inspired by Gustav Holst's Mars movement from The Planets, written between 1914 and 1916.

The title of the song "Das rache krieg lied der Assyriche" roughly translates as "The Revenge War Song of the Assyrians" in German ("Das Rache-Kriegslied der Assyrer").

Track listing

All tracks written by Karl Sanders

No.TitleLength
1."Smashing the Antiu"2:18
2."Barra Edinazzu"2:47
3."Kudurru Maqlu" (Instrumental)1:05
4."Serpent Headed Mask"2:18
5."Ramses Bringer of War"4:45
6."Stones of Sorrow"4:17
7."Die rache krieg lied der Assyriche"3:13
8."The Howling of the Jinn"2:34
9."Pestilence and Iniquity"1:54
10."Opening of the Mouth"3:39
11."Beneath Eternal Oceans of Sand"4:17
Total length:33:07
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Wrought"8:44
Total length:41:51

Personnel
Nile
Additional musicians
  • Drilbu Dungkar - thigh bone flutes, Turkish gongs
  • Mahala Kapala - Damaru human skull drums
  • Mudflap - additional vocals on "Die rache krieg lied der Assyriche"
  • Penga Grande - additional vocals on "Die rache krieg lied der Assyriche"
  • Gyuto Drupka - choir
Production
  • Adam Peterson - artwork
  • Bob Moore - producer, engineering
  • Matthew Jacobson - executive producer
  • Earl Sanders - producer
  • Bill Yurkiewicz - executive producer

References
  1. Kantor, Matt. Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka review allmusic.com. Retrieved on 2011-08-05.
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