1990s Nile formed in Greenville, South Carolina in 1993 from a previous band called Morriah, which founding member
Karl Sanders had performed in since the 1980s. The name of the band was taken from the
Nile river. Nile released a self-titled thrash-influenced demo in 1994 (re-issued in 2011 under the title
Worship the Animal - 1994: The Lost Recordings). Sanders, vocalist/bassist Chief Spires and drummer Pete Hammoura released the
Festivals of Atonement EP in 1995, leading Nile to a southwestern tour in support of other metal acts such as
Obituary,
Deicide, and
Broken Hope. The EP
Ramses Bringer of War was released by Visceral Productions in 1997. The label was due to release the band's first full-length album
Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka, but went out of business later that year. However,
Relapse Records was open to releasing it early on, giving Nile a wider distribution and a chance to tour with
Incantation and
Morbid Angel. According to Sanders, "The vibe in the late 90s was that death metal was dead. We didn’t care though, because we were going to do whatever we wanted to do, the world be damned. [...] Already we had wrestled with the idea that probably no one was going to give a fuck, so let’s just do what we like and own it. We didn’t care about the ebb and flow of whatever is currently popular."
2000s The follow-up,
Black Seeds of Vengeance, was released in September 2000. Prior to the release, drummer Pete Hammoura left the band due to injuries sustained while touring with Catacomb. Derek Roddy stepped in as a session musician to perform on all of the tracks (except "To Dream of Ur"). Also, prior to the album,
Dallas Toler-Wade joined as a second guitarist/vocalist. Chief Spires left the band a few months after the release of
Black Seeds of Vengeance, citing personal and professional differences. He was replaced by Jon Vesano. The band also found new drummer Tony Laureano. In 2002,
In Their Darkened Shrines was released. One reviewer noted that the album gave "death metal a cinematic, symphonic twist". On March 21, 2007, Nile was confirmed as a "Second Stage" act for
Ozzfest 2007. A message from Karl Sanders via Nile's
MySpace profile indicated that they were excited to finally bring true death metal to an Ozzfest audience. From March to April 2008, Nile went on a headlining tour in the United States with
Suicide Silence,
The Faceless,
Unexpect, and
Warbringer. From September to October 2008, Nile set out on a European headlining tour with
Grave,
Omnium Gatherum and
Severe Torture. In October 2008, the band planned to take their
Ithyphallic tour to South Africa for a booking of three shows, but were canceled for unknown reasons. In June 2009, Nile entered the recording studio to begin work on their sixth full-length album entitled
Those Whom the Gods Detest. The album was released on November 3, 2009, and was critically well-received, with one reviewer suggesting "pretty much the only thing standing in Nile's way at this point is the fact that we as listeners have become so accustomed to the band's excellence that another excellent album seems almost par for the course".
2010s , Dallas Toler-Wade and Chris Lollis. On October 21, 2010, bassist Chris Lollis was confirmed as the new member for Nile, after four years of session work with the band. On December 6, 2011, Nile announced work in progress, and the completion of drum tracking, for their upcoming album in 2012. On February 4, 2012, Karl Sanders announced on his Facebook page that they had a new bassist, Todd Ellis, who would contribute vocals to the new record. The next day, he explained on the band's official forum that he had lost contact with Chris Lollis during the writing and recording of the upcoming album, and after three months of silence from him they hired a replacement. The seventh album
At the Gate of Sethu was released on June 29, 2012. On February 9, 2015, Todd Ellis left the band, citing "unforeseen circumstances beyond my control". Nile's eighth studio album
What Should Not Be Unearthed was released on August 28, 2015. In the summer of 2016, the band took part in the Summer Slaughter tour. In October 2016, after the Summer Slaughter tour, Dallas Toler-Wade left the band, prioritizing his duties with Narcotic Wasteland, and was replaced by Enthean vocalist/guitarist Brian Kingsland. Nile made the announcement in February 2017, In May 2017, the band entered the studio to begin work on their ninth album
Vile Nilotic Rites, which was released on November 1, 2019.
2020s In July 2022, Sanders confirmed to
Guitar World magazine that Nile has been working on their tenth studio album: "So far, we've got 10 songs written. We're probably going to do three more, and hopefully start recording by the end of the summer. Then we've got a European tour coming up in November/December, and after that, we've got to finish the record and hopefully get it out sometime early next year." In October 2022 Nile announced Julian Guillen would be joining the band on bass for the upcoming November/December European tour. On May 29, 2024, Nile released the song "Chapter for Not Being Hung Upside Down on a Stake in the Underworld and Made to Eat Feces by The Four Apes" from the album
The Underworld Awaits Us All, which was released by Napalm Records on August 23, 2024. In early 2025, Nile co-headlined a US tour with
Six Feet Under. The band also played
Maryland Deathfest that year. In September 2025, before the band's The Underworld Awaits Tour in the US with
Cryptopsy, bassist/vocalist Dan Vadim Von announced on Instagram his departure from the band after two years in the lineup "to focus on other commitments". ==Musical style and lyrics==