Hey Karl! How did the recording session go for the new album? I believe it is to be called "Black Seeds of Vengeance". Is that true?

Well, the recording was very stressful, and to this day I am amazed that we were able to complete it. It was a very difficult album to make and they were many obstacles to overcome in recording "Black Seeds of Vengeance". But the hard work was well worth and we are very happy with the new album and look forward to bring it to the metal crowds.

What can we expect from the new one? Any change of style, or new elements added? How much influence did new guitarist Dallas have on the music?

"Black Seeds" is very fast and yet moody, full of feelings and unique Egyptian atmospheres. I would not say that there is not necessarily a change of style but more of an evolution. Time went by, and we evolved as people and musicians. "Black Seeds" is different from "Nephren Ka". This time we worked harder on incorporating the Egyptian atmosphere with the death metal parts. It is more intricate. The Egyptian theme and overtones are no longer just something that we stuck here or there, like children doing a collage. Now the underlying theme is more subtle than it used to be, and as our capacity and confidence grew, we were able to write songs where our influences are all integrated in a more mature and compositionally sophisticated manner. The songs are more complex, even though we didn't have to trade sophistication for brutality. Dallas is a very positive addition to the band. He is not only a tight player, but he helped with some of the writing. "Multitude of Foes" is the song that Dallas contributed to the record and we felt that Dallas was able to integrate within the band and adapt to our style and our way of writing music.

Could you expand on any lyrical themes explored on the album? Who penned the lyrics?

The title track "Black Seeds of Vengeance", for instance, deals with the subject of the Amalachites, nation of Desert nomadic peoples that continually plagued the Egyptians. Despising anything Egyptian, the Amalachites would cruelly abduct, murder, mutilate, dismember, violate, and sodomize random Egyptian peoples. They would ruin crops, salt fertile earth, steal or kill livestock, and urinate on stored grains. Their particular joy was to blaspheme and befoul with feces Sacred Egyptian objects of Art, Scrolls, and Religious Papyri. They became a scourge to the ancient Egyptians (amongst others). The lyrics are voiced from the perspective that the "speaker" is some sort of rebellious leader - inciting the downtrodden and oppressed masses to take bloody vengeance for years of abuse at the hands of the Amalachites.

How much touring are you planning to do for this release? I heard that you might be going out with underground legends Macabre? Is that true?

It is a filthy lie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (just kidding). Macabre are great and we love playing shows with them. No we are not going on tour with Macabre. So far, we have a booked a tour with Cannibal Corpse, Krisiun and The Crown. Since the release is not out yet, other than that, we do not have any anything set in stone yet.

Your last release "In the Catacombs..." achieved huge acclaim around the world. You guys (together with Angelcorpse and Krisiun) in my opinion have brought a new wave of death metal to the forefront of extreme metal and have raised the stakes of metal. Do Nile feel a pressure, or responsibility to make an album to surpass "Catacombs"? Do you think you have achieved it?

Yes, we do feel a certain pressure at times. As far as making an album that surpass "Nephren Ka", the point is that we are supposed to learn from past experience and draw upon it. When I think of our first full length, I think of the experience it brought me, and what, perhaps, I could improve. We did not want to simply do "Nephren Ka" all over again, we had new ideas and a newer depth and sophistication to the compositions. So it was not so much a question of surpassing "Nephren Ka", the challenge to us was to capture the full range of the new material and present the songs as they deserved to be presented. (in other words we improved our computer skills!!!)

How much time is put in to Nile, and how seriously do you take the band?

A hell of a lot of time is spent into Nile. There is not a single day that goes by without time being consumed by the band. And yes, we do take it seriously, otherwise we would not make the necessary sacrifices.

Do you know how many copies of "Catacombs..." you sold? It must be quite a lot, because it is fast becoming almost a compulsory album to have!

I am not quite sure, perhaps 25,000 worldwide, but really what does it matter? "Catacombs" was good album, and we were not concerned with how many copies it sold. We worked very hard on that record, and we are proud of it whether it sold 500 , 5,000, or 50,000.

On another note, I'm interested in what you do outside of Nile? Any jobs, or other musical projects?

We all work day jobs to support ourselves, we do not have time for outside musical projects between working and Nile, there is little time for anything else.

Are Nile happy with the way Relapse is doing the promotion? How many more albums can we expect though Relapse?

We are happy with the way Relapse is handling things. They are doing a great job at promoting the new record. We are obligated for 2 more records with Relapse.

You recently released your previous two EPs on one disc titled "In the Beginning" though Hammerheart. Why was it through these guys, and what has the reaction been?

Hammerheart Records just came up with an offer, and we would never have thought that someone would be interested in re-releasing our older recordings. So we accepted the offer, since we were still receiving requests for "Ramses" and "Festivals".

Where would you say Nile is most popular? (Not Egypt is it? haha) Where are your favourite places to play?

It is hard to say, we did a few US tours, and went only once to Europe, so we do not really have a fair way to compare, I would have to say though that we definitely enjoyed getting the chance to go overseas. Europe is a great place to tour, although there are several places here in the states that have been very good to us (Chicago, SF, LA, Texas). As far as being popular in Egypt, I met some Egyptian fans, here in the states who told me that we had quite a following there. Unfortunately, they explained to us that 5 years ago, at some local show, a few kids were smoking pot in the pit. Somewhat, the cops came up, and decided to arrest anyone present at the show (bands, fans, everybody). It turned out that all those people, regardless of smoking weeds or not, were arrested and jailed for 5 to 10 years. The local Egyptian scene died out at that point for some obvious reasons. And those guys told me that only now are some of those people coming out of jail, and that the scene is slowly reconstructing itself.

Do all the members in the band have an interest in anthropology and history? How much effort is put into research for your lyrics?

All of us are interested, but I am the one spending time doing all the research. I have an extensive collection on Ancient Egyptian literature that I use as a source of inspiration for the lyrics.

Could you tell us about guitar setup and how you get your sound?

My guitar equipment is fairly straight forward. I play a Fender strat through a Marshall amp and most of my tones comes from my hands.

Ok, thats about it, any last words Karl, and when will the new album be released?

The album will be released on September 5th in the US, September 11th for Europe. Thanks for the opportunity to talk with you and your readers. I look forward to see you on tour sometime in the near future, David.