Metal Wani’s editor in chief Owais “Vitek” Nabi recently had a chat with NILE founding member Karl Sanders and discussed Nile's songwriting style, the 80's death metal scene, the backlash against technical death metal, his view on Kickstarter campaigns, unpredictable bass players, his view on fans' usage of cell phones and cameras during concerts, dropping record sales and touring, alongside the upcoming Nile record, among other topics. An excerpt can be found below and the whole interview can also be listened to as well:

Nabi: In the 80's and early 90's, death metal bands like DEATH, MORBID ANGEL, CANNIBAL CORPSE were rebelling against the MOTLEY CRUEs of the world and were raising the bar in the metal community. What kind of changes have you seen in the death metal scene since you started out?

Sanders: “I have seen it become very watered down in spirits. Like you said, 25 years ago there was a great spirit of rebellion. If you love death metal then you would hated everything else. You totally embrace death metal and say fuck you to everyone else. There was a certain bond that metal fans shared because we were all rebelling against everything else. But in recent years it's become Okay to like death metal. It's become more acceptable and with that acceptance, it's no longer such a forbidden, evil thing to listen to death metal. It's OK if your mom and dad listen to death metal then how bad could to be? I like stuff like IMMOLATION, new GORGUTS and KRISIUN. Krisiun have been doing incredibly brutal thing. They are such an underrated band in the big picture. They are I think the most brutal thing on the planet.

I saw a band at NAMM convention last week with Alex Webster and Jeff Loomis — CONQUERING DYSTOPIA. Oh yes my friend, what an incredible band. They are the evolution of extreme death metal, what a progression. They had the audience spellbound at NAMM. I would say 700-800 people watching them and we were all captivated from the first note to the last note.”

Nabi: How does it feel, when you are out on stage and you see a sea of cell-phones and cameras taking pictures and videos? Gone are the days when we used to see horns. How does this feel?

Sanders: (Laughs) “there is something to that and I am glad you asked this. There is something I think we should share with fans because I don’t think fans realize. When you are taking your cell phone or video camera whatever and you are busy filming the show, you are not in the show. You are no longer a part of the experience. When people are involved with the show, you are listening to the band, watching them, you are headbanging, you are moshing, then you are part of the similar community experience. All of us are focused on the same energy and that's an incredible experience. You can feel that, it's real, the band and fans unite, they are together. So when I see fans filming the show, texting or whatever, they are missing out on a wonderful experience which hurts me, discourages me. It’s like what if you are in bed with your girlfriend and you are making love with her and she's texting (laughs). It bothers me so much that if people do it right in front of me, I am going to take the phone from them. If they are going to stick the camera or whatever right in my face I am going to say ‘Fuck you, go away... go 20 feet back’, because that place right in the front is for someone who wants to get involved, and if you are texting then you are cheating that fan out of a place where he could be enjoying music.”

Nile will tour North America once again this April and May with 27 shows supported by three of the best local bands in every market. Nile will play a massive set with music spanning their entire prolific career, including several never-performed-before-live songs.

Dates include:

April

14 - The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
15 - Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
16 - Bogie’s – Albany, NY
18 - Montage Music Hall – Rochester, NY
19 - The Palladium – Worcester, MA
20 - Stage 48 – New York, NY
21 - FouFounes – Montreal, QC
22 - Imperial de Quebec – Quebec City, QC
23 - Mavericks – Ottawa, ON
24 - Opera House – Toronto, ON
25 - Agora Ballroom – Cleveland, OH
26 - Rave – Milwaukee, WI
27 - Mojoes – Joliet, IL
29 - Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO

May

1 - Rickshaw Theater – Vancouver, BC
2 - El Corazon – Seattle, WA
3 - Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR
5 - Slim’s – San Francisco, CA
6 - House of Blues – West Hollywood, CA
7 - Club Red – Tempe, AZ
8 - LVCS – Las Vegas, NV
10 - The Chameleon Room – Oklahoma City, OK
11 - Trees – Dallas, TX
12 - Green Room – San Antonio, TX
13 - Scout Bar – Houston, TX
14 - Siberia – New Orleans, LA
15 - Orpheum – Tampa, FL