I remember buying Nile's In Their Darkened Shrines back in 2002 or 2003 and hating it. I usually like my death metal to be catchy (I can't stand brutal death metal at all with the "gor-gor'gorgorgor" vocals), and the album was too much of a blasting assault on my ears. I haven't cared for them since...
...until now. I got sick of listening to power metal for a month straight, put on some black metal for Halloween and then decided to give a few Nile albums a shot since I saw that they have a new one out. They're definitely sounding much more fresh to these ears, which have become more accustomed to death and extreme metal over the last 16 years. I've listened to just about every album in their catalog and really have a new appreciation for them.