Hailing from Greenville, South Carolina, Ozzfest vets Nile rose to prominence in the mid-’90s opening for heavy music gods like Obituary but distinguishing themselves from dimmer metalheads with a cinematic flourish that led many to claim Nile brought death metal back from the dead. (That makes maybe one zombie trend music heads don’t roll their eyes into the backs of their heads over?) With 2015’s What Should Not Be Unearthed, the band beckons their namesake Egyptian muse in what might be their most spiritual release yet – but don’t go expecting some ponderous metal-gospel; pounders like “Call to Destruction” crush the windpipe on typical evangelist-like fodder. Intense imagery, deliberate philosophical exploration and the legacy of Nile fuse to create what’s possibly their heaviest record to date, in subject and style alike.

NILE with Sons of Ragnar, Bhavachakra, Emporos, Darkness by Design | 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9 | The Haven, 6700 Aloma Ave., Winter Park | 407-673-2712 | thehavenrocks.com | $17-$20

This article appears in Dec 30, 2015 – Jan 5, 2016.

Associate editor, music nerd, NBA junkie, Florida explorer and obsessive pet owner.