NILE's KARL SANDERS on his recent illness: “it was about a month of recovery this time”
20-08-2024
In a new interview with Metal Blast, NILE founding mastermind/guitarist Karl Sanders reflected on the fact that he was forced to miss the band’s June 29 performance at Hellfest in Clisson, France after becoming “seriously ill.” The other three members of NILE‘s current touring lineup — drummer George Kollias, guitarist/vocalist Zach Jeter and bassist/vocalist Dan Vadim Von — played the show as a three-piece. Asked if Hellfest 2024 marked NILE‘s first live performance without him, Sanders said: “It’s the first time that the other guys have had to play without me since 1996. Back in 1996 I had to miss a couple of shows because I was in a custody battle in court over the custody of my infant son. So I had to be in court. You can’t miss that. Then, in 2005, we all got food poisoning in Arizona and I was really, really, really sick. So we just didn’t play, which that was a costly endeavor. When you don’t play, you still have to pay all the expenses; you just don’t get paid. (Laughs) So it’s not good. That’s what they say: the show must go on. Well, the show must go on. But this thing after Graspop (Metal Meeting in Belgium) and before Hellfest, it’s the first time they’ve had to play without me. The expenses on that trip were so costly this time that we would have lost so much money if they didn’t try to save the show. It was just insane. So, hats off to my bandmates. They did what they had to do under very difficult circumstances. And they did it. So I’ve got some good bandmates.”
Regarding what happened to cause him to miss the Hellfest show and how he is doing in his recovery, Karl said: “Well, I don’t necessarily wanna bore people with, ‘Oh, you got this’ or ‘You got that.’ I’m doing better now. But it was about a month of recovery this time. I feel very cheated out of my summer. I was gonna enjoy this summer. ‘Cause the new NILE album’s finished, and July I was gonna be home. But it was not to be.”
After the Hellfest performance, Jeter took to his social media to write: “@hellfestopenair 2024 was one for the books, to say the least. Due to illness, our brother Karl was unfortunately unable to join us on stage. As much as we missed him, the show had to go on. Alongside @georgekolliasofficial and @danielvadimvon we crushed this show as a 3 piece!
“To the Hellfest crowd, you guys were fucking awesome and made it all worthwhile. We’ll be back in Europe with Karl in September for ‘The Underworld’ tour, see you out there!”
NILE recently announced their 10th album, The Underworld Awaits Us All, out August 23 via Napalm Records. The album’s second single “To Strike with Secret Fang”, is now released. The single comes with a lyric video.
Watch “To Strike with Secret Fang” below.
NILE’s Karl Sanders comments on the new track and tour announcement:
“‘To Strike with Secret Fang’ is a straight-to-the-point, uptempo blasting venomous assassin’s blade of a metal song. It’s the shortest track off the new record, The Underworld Awaits us All, which of course in Nile fashion has several long form complex metal compositions. But ‘Fang’ instantly goes right for the throat and will no doubt be a burner for live Nile shows.
Watch the previously released “Chapter For Not Being Hung Upside Down On A Stake In The Underworld And Made To Eat Feces By The Four Apes” below.
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.”
previously, NILE shared a short video of founder Karl Sanders (guitar, vocals) and Lewis as they were putting the finishing touches on the band’s tenth LP. The clip was accompanied by the following caption: “We are DONE mixing the new NILE album! This album sounds killer – We have put our hearts and souls into this record, and we believe that the amount of time, effort, and detail that went into it shows through the music. \m/”
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” track listing:
01. Stelae Of Vultures
02. Chapter For Not Being Hung Upside Down On A Stake In The Underworld And Made To Eat Feces By The Four Apes
03. To Strike With Secret Fang
04. Naqada II Enter The Golden Age
05. The Pentagrammathion Of Nephren-Ka
06. Overlords Of The Black Earth
07. Under The Curse Of The One God
09. Doctrine Of Last Things
10. True Gods Of The Desert
11. The Underworld Awaits Us All
12. Lament For The Destruction Of Time
The Underworld Awaits Us All will be available in the following formats:
-2LP Gatefold GOLD (Napalm mail order only – limited to 300) – NEW!!
-2LP Gatefold MARBLED ORANGE RED BLACK w/ 24 Page Vinyl Booklet and Slipmat (Napalm mail order only – limited to 200)
-2LP Gatefold SPLATTER DARK GREEN YELLOW (Napalm mail order only – limited to 300)
-2LP Gatefold CLEAR (North American indie stores only – limited to 500)
-2LP Gatefold CLEAR w/ signed card (limited North American Newbury Comics exclusive)
-2LP Gatefold BLACK
-6 Page CD Digipak
-6 Page CD Digipak w/ signed card (limited North American Newbury Comics exclusive)
-6 Page CD Digipak & Anubis Bust (limited to 500) – SOLD OUT in North America, only 50 left in international store!
-Cassette Tape Edition YELLOW (Napalm mail order only – limited to 200)
-Digital Album
Last October, NILE announced its new touring lineup. Joining Sanders and longtime drummer George Kollias are Dan Vadim Von (MORBID ANGEL, INCANTATION) on bass/vocals and Zach Jeter (HIDEOUS DIVINITY, OLKOTH) on guitar/vocals.
In June 2023, mastermind Karl Sanders spoke to Headbangers Latinoamérica about the progress of the recording sessions for NILE‘s tenth studio album. Asked how the studio work is coming along, Karl said: “Very well. (NILE drummer) George (Kollias) finished all his drums. He did an amazing job. When people hear this, they are not going to believe that it’s a real live human doing all this stuff. But it’s George. People who have seen him live and in the flesh can believe. So he’s done probably the best album of his career with this new NILE record. Now it’s our turn playing guitars.”
In July 2022, Sanders told Guitar World magazine that he and his bandmates had 10 songs written for the follow-up to 2019’s “Vile Nilotic Rites”. Earlier that same month, NILE announced the departure of bassist/vocalist Brad Parris.
NILE‘s current lineup consists of Sanders handling guitars and vocals, Kollias on drums, and Brian Kingsland, who joined the group in 2017, on guitar and vocals. Julian David Guillen is the band’s touring bassist and vocalist.
Originally hailing from Greenville, South Carolina, international death metal legends NILE have become one of the most revered names in the worldwide heavy metal scene today, combining extreme traditional and technical death metal styles with their trademarked blend of Ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern soundscapes and historical mysticism.
“Vile Nilotic Rites” was released in November 2019 via Nuclear Blast. The disc was recorded and produced by Sanders at Serpent Headed Studios in Greenville, South Carolina, with the exception of the drums which were recorded at Esoteron Music Studios in Athens, Greece with engineering handled by Jim Touras and George Dovolos. The album was mixed and mastered by Mark Lewis at MRL Studios. For the album artwork, the band returned to artist Michal “Xaay” Loranc who had worked with the band for over 10 years.
In September 2021, NILE announced that it had signed a worldwide contract with Napalm Records.
Social media