Nile legend Karl Sanders has issued the following update regarding his health issues and forced to miss France's Hellfest tonight:

"I’m heartbroken to share that I became seriously ill after Graspop and have been in an emergency hospital this week in Belgium. As a result, I am going to have to miss Nile's performance at Hellfest. This is the first time in 19 years that I, personally, have not played a show due to illness, and it's incredibly hard for me to disappoint you all. Over the many years of my career with Nile, I have played shows while combating broken bones, neck injuries, back injuries, hand and wrist injuries, and all conceivable varieties of tour flu and infection sicknesses. If there were any way at all for me to make the show at Hellfest, believe me I would be there to participate in Metal. It's just not possible this time.

However, in the spirit of metal perseverance, the other members of Nile - George, Dan, and Zach - will be there to play the show as a three-piece. Please show them your support as they bravely give it their all to bring you the music that we in Nile love to share. Your energy and enthusiasm will make all the difference to create an unforgettable experience for everyone. It will make me happy to see videos of epic moshing and classic Nile chants at Hellfest from my sickbed! Thank you for your understanding and support. I appreciate all of you, and will see you back on tour with the guys in September."

Nile, return in 2024 with their highly-anticipated 10th onslaught, The Underworld Awaits Us All, out August 23 via Napalm Records.

Boasting airtight technicality and unrelenting brutality, the new album pushes each member of Nile – founding mastermind/guitarist Karl Sanders, longtime drum master George Kollias, vocalist/guitarists Brian Kingsland and Zach Jeter, and bassist Dan Vadim Von – to their furthest extremes both in artistry and performance.

Once again produced and recorded at Sanders’ own Serpent Headed Studios in Greenville, South Carolina, the band returned to Vile Nilotic Rites engineer Mark Lewis (Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, Whitechapel) for mixing and mastering.

In celebration of today's announcement, Nile have dropped the album's first new single, "Chapter For Not Being Hung Upside Down On A Stake In The Underworld And Made To Eat Feces By The Four Apes", alongside a new official music video. Topped by killer screams and gutturals, the track is a winding hacksaw of brutal tech-death injections citing the Egyptian Book of the Dead.

Nile's Karl Sanders comments on the new track and video: “'Chapter For Not Being Hung Upside Down' is one of our favorite tracks on the new record. It’s a lot of fun to play, challenging and unpredictable, but with an infectiously brutal, unrestrained vibe that I am very certain will be a blast in the mosh pit during live shows. We are super happy to be working with Tom Flynn for the video for this song - he is a visionary with insanely creative ideas and a really cool guy to work with. Very excited for people to see what he has been cooking up with this video."

Watch the video below.

Facing the planet’s inevitable end with their diehard fans at their side, Nile waste absolutely no time with histrionics on The Underworld Awaits Us All, distilling their trademark Egyptology driven tempest down to its most streamlined essence. Charging into battle as its namesake depicts, “Stelae Of Vultures” makes an immediate impact with dissonant guitar chords and supernatural drumming, teasing the auditory evisceration to come. Topped by impressive screams and gutturals, the track leads into "Chapter For Not Being Hung Upside Down On A Stake In The Underworld And Made To Eat Feces By The Four Apes", citing the Egyptian Book of the Dead’s 181st chapter. The album’s most succinct track, “To Strike With Secret Fang”, blends low-end punishment with blackened death metal inspiration, before album standouts such as “Naqada II Enter The Golden Age” and “Overlords Of The Black Earth” breathe new life with thrash and fusion experimentation, as well as real human choirs – adding a raw element to the Nile fold. Each track soars as a technical tour-de-force – featuring career-defining extreme drumming from Kollias, as well as razor-sharp soloing from all three active guitarists and palpable bass exploration. A perfect example of this equation is pinnacle burner “Under the Curse of the One God”, combining sinister atmospherics with breakneck pacing and whirlwind, vicious riff acrobatics.

Throughout the remainder of its 11 pummelling tracks and intricate interludes, Nile masters full-tilt speed and ferocious musicality. 30 years into their heavy reign, The Underworld Awaits Us All proves that Nile is marching onward and undoubtedly upward, bleeding metal for their fandom for as long as the sands of time will allow.

Karl Sanders says about the album: “We are very happy to be sharing with fans Nile’s 10th album. We worked overtime making this record as killer as we could - because we sincerely felt fans deserved our best efforts. The Underworld Awaits us All - and we will see you there."

The Underworld Awaits Us All’s mind-bending art was once again envisioned and created by Michał 'Xaay' Loranc, with reference to the cycle of life and judgment at its end.

The Underworld Awaits Us All will be available in the following formats:  

     
- 6 Page CD Digipak & Anubis Bust (limited to 500)
- 2LP Gatefold Marbled Orange Black w/ 24 Page Vinyl Booklet and Slipmat (limited to 200)
- 2LP Gatefold Splatter Dark Green Yellow (limited to 300)
- 2LP Gatefold Black
- 2LP Gatefold Clear (North American retail stores only - limited to 500)
- Cassette Tape Edition Yellow (limited to 200)
- 6 Page CD Digipak
- Digital Album

Pre-order here.

The Underworld Awaits Us All tracklisting:

"Stelae of Vultures
"Chapter For Not Being Hung Upside Down On A Stake In The Underworld And Made To Eat Feces By The Four Apes"
"To Strike With Secret Fang"
"Naqada II Enter The Golden Age"
"The Pentagrammathion Of Nephren-Ka"
"Overlords Of The Black Earth"
"Under The Curse Of The One God"
"Doctrine Of Last Things"
"True Gods Of The Desert"
"The Underworld Awaits Us All"
"Lament For The Destruction Of Time"

"Chapter For Not Being Hung Upside Down On A Stake" video:

Nile recently announced a full European tour for September 2024, followed by a Japan tour in October 2024. The band was also just confirmed for Maryland Deathfest 2025, and will make two festival appearances this summer. See below for a full list and stay tuned for more tour announcements coming soon.

Festivals:

June
21 - Dessel, Belgium - Graspop Metal Meeting
 

May 2025
 22-25 - Baltimore, MD - Maryland Deathfest XX

Underworld Europe Tour 2024:

September
3 - Essen, Germany - Turock
4 - Amstelveen, Holland - P60
5 - Bristol, UK - The Fleece
6 - Glasgow, UK - Slay
7 - Dublin, Ireland - Opium
8 - Belfast, N.Ireland - Limelight2
10 - Manchester, UK - Rebellion
11 - London, UK - Underworld
12 - Drachten, Holland - Iduna
13 - Uden, Holland - De Pul
14 - Brugge, Belgium - Het Entrepot
15 - Mannheim, Germany - MS Connexion Complex
17 - Barcelona, Spain - Salamandra
18 - Valencia, Spain - Almassera
19 - Sevilla, Spain - Custom
20 - Lisbon, Portugal - RCA
21 - Porto, Portugal - Hard Club
22 - Madrid, Spain - Mon
24 - Moncalieri (TI), Italy - Audiodrome
25 - Rome, Italy - Largo
26 - Modena, Italy - Notte Tempio
27 - Aarau, Switzerland - KiFF
28 - San Dona' Di Piave, Italy - Revolver
29 - Munich, Germany - Backstage

Japan Tour 2024:

October
8 - Tokyo, Japan - Space Odd
9 - Tokyo, Japan - Space Odd
10 - Osaka, Japan - Varon

Nile in Bangkok:

October
12 - Bangkok, Thailand - Mr. Fox Live House

Australia & New Zealand Tour 2024:

October
15 - Perth, Australia - Milk Bar / Civic Hotel  
16 - Adelaide, Australia - The Gov
17 - Brisbane, Australia - The Brightside
18 - Melbourne, Australia - Max Watts
19 - Hobart, Australia - Uni Bar
20 - Sydney, Australia - Crowbar
22 - Auckland, New Zealand - Whammy

Nile is:

Karl Sanders - Guitar, Vocals, Keyboards
George Kollias - Drums
Brian Kingsland - Guitar, Vocals
Zach Jeter - Guitar, Vocals
Dan Vadim Von - Bass

(Photo - Casey Coscarelli)