The Black Dahlia Murder and Nile @ The TLA.

Text and images by Chad Sims.

I have to begin by revealing that I grew up in South Florida, so I was exposed to death metal at a young age (Tampa was the home of U.S. death metal through the 90s). I listened to stuff like Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel and Malevolent Creation. By high school, I lost interest in metal.  Not until college did some friends turn me on to the newer breed of extreme metal bands including Nile.

In 2005, I finally got to see Nile (at the time, still on Philadelphia’s own Relapse Records) with an opening band called The Black Dahlia Murder (above and at right).

Last Wednesday, I got to see these two bands share a stage again at the Theatre of the Living Arts but this time the roles were reversed.

Nile (bottom image) played an amazing set of their unique brand of Egyptian-themed death metal, finishing with their song, “Black Seeds of Vengeance” (below). These guys were, quite frankly, amazing.  I can’t wait until they come back to Philly as a headlining act.

The Black Dahlia Murder closed the show and certainly got the crowd going.  So much energy was emanating from the stage and singer Trevor Strnad (dude is a performer!) that people couldn’t help but go crazy.

Skeletonwitch and Hour of Penance opened the show.

There is something of a heavy metal renaissance going on.  If you ever were into metal or even the least bit interested in the genre, you owe it to yourself to check out some of these new bands. In the coming weeks and months there are a number of great shows coming up at Theatre of the Living Arts and other venues. Give them a look.