One way to ensure longevity of craft is to corner a niche market. If your niche is epic American brutal death metal with a heavy dose of Middle Eastern instruments and guitar melodies, not to mention eight to 10-minute songs about esoteric Egyptology entitled things like “Hittite Dung Incantation,” you might be Nile. The new album by the extreme metal outfit is called Those Whom the Gods Detest, and is the long awaited successor to the band’s crowning achievement, 2004’s Annihilation of the Wicked. 2007’s Ityphallic just didn’t measure up

“Utterances of the Crawling Dead” is a standout tune for its incredible sense of melody and the focus of its riffs. To compare this song to earlier albums in the band’s career would only emphasize the clarity of the band’s improved production and the superior technique of current drummer George Kolias, who made his debut on Annihilation and continues to demonstrate why he is here to stay. If one word could be used to describe his playing, it would be “tasteful,” a delicacy of a term when applied to ferocious octopus-like extreme metal drumming, and a contrast to Nile’s previous drummers. A mouthful of a title, “Permitting the Noble Dead to Descend to the Underworld” continues the band’s newfound cohesion between vicious thrash-metal oriented riff barrages and harmonic minor melodic fills.

Karl Sanders used to have one of the most indecipherably inhuman death metal grunts ever, bordering on the comic noises of slam death or porno-grind bands, but with this album his signature snarl is surprisingly clear, almost understandable, although his rapid exhalations of un-rhyming prose passages will still require a lyric sheet to follow. His commitment to and fascination with ancient Egyptian culture and history (extending even to the liner notes) should be applauded and even appreciated by the fellow Egyptology / history buff.

Other highlights are the long title track, brutal opener and religious critique “Kafir!” and “The Eye of Ra.” Although it’s not quite Annihilation, the new Nile album proves they can bounce back and maintain listener interest despite their unique brand of obscure heavy music.