Saurian Meditation

The leader of Nile has created another sonic adventure with this album, melding the Middle Eastern flavors, rhythms and percussion with a guitar style that would bring to mind Jimmy Page sitting down with an acoustic guitar. The opening "Awaiting the Vultures" is a perfect example of this as Sanders evokes a mystical track that has a thick thread of tension throughout. The acoustically-leaning "Of the Sleep of Ishtar" is more in line with the likes of Kitaro and Yanni, but to a lesser extant as Sanders' playing and vocals are almost choir-like. A pan flute can be also heard as the song plods along slowly over its nearly ten minutes. For some listeners it might be hypnotic, but for others it might put you to sleep too easily despite its strong ending. It's as if Sanders is conjuring up the ghosts of Zeppelin, Floyd and Queensryche to help make his own statement. "Luring the Doom Serpent"'s melody falls into place instantly and despite its deliberate, heavy percussion, Sanders' guitar and bolero-like style is quite appealing. "Contemplation of the Endless Abyss" has a distinct Gregorian chant aura to it as vocals ebb in and out of the quasi-ethereal effort. Throughout the album, Sanders seems intent on creating epic, cinematic music, particularly on the grandiose feeling of "The Elder God Shrine," the first tune that seems to have a definite groove. "Dreaming Through the Eyes of Serpents" again revisits a cross between Middle East and a spaghetti Western soundtrack. Here Sanders is at his finest in creating a mood and building upon it. Perhaps the sleeper pick is the meticulous and detailed "Whence No Traveler Returns," which resembles Adrian Legg if backed by a large ensemble. The drone that opens the closing "Beckon the Sick Winds of Pestilence" takes the rather ambitious and hypnotic album out the same way it came in. It's an album that is quite alluring, always challenging and rarely boring. ~ Jason MacNeil