Nile/Embalmer

One of death metal’s most aggressive practitioners, Nile doesn’t hold anything back on its most recent album, last year’s At the Gates of Sethu. The album starts with the appropriately titled “Enduring the Eternal Molestation of the Flame,” a heavy tune punctuated by growling vocals and thrashing guitars. And it never lets up, offering up proggy anthems such as “The Fiends Who Come to Steal the Magick of the Deceased” that make Metallica come off as a bunch of wussies by comparison. For this tour, which marks the band’s 20th anniversary, the group will play two sets spanning its entire career. Bring earplugs. (Jeff Niesel)