[Edit: Our newest writer Robert is back with more. Robert turns out to be a massive fan of Nile and sets himself to the task of reviewing the band’s 2002 album In Their Darkened Shrines. It is the start of a new series: Albums You Should Own, in which he will review the classics of (Extreme) Metal.]

One of the most listenable, best-produced yet brutally technical and frantic albums in Death Metal, Nile’s In Their Darkened Shrines, remains fresh and accessible today despite being a decade old this year. The album built on the solid foundations Nile had crafted through previous releases Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka and Black Seeds of Vengeance and cemented their place at the top of the Death Metal game, combining breakneck riffing, blastbeats and eerie instrumental passages in equal measure – all tied together by Nile’s signature Egyptian themes and lyrics.