NILE's SANDERS Says Record Label Is Planning Legal Action Against Journalist That Leaked Album

Guitarist/vocalist Karl Sanders of Southern Carolina-based extreme technical death metallers NILE is pissed that the band's new album, "Those Whom the Gods Detest", has been leaked. As was the case with CONVERGE's "Axe to Fall" album, the NILE leak has been traced back to a journalist.

"Amongst your brethren, there is a betrayer," Sanders tells AOL's Noisecreep. "In fact, Nuclear Blast [NILE's record label] knows exactly who it was. It was the same guy who leaked the HYPOCRISY record. So, yeah, it was a journalist, a music journalist that leaked the record. Now, come on man ... don't we all have the struggle in this day and age, trying to eke out a living, playing music or writing about music?

"So, the idea that one of our own ... one our own brethren is the guy that stuck a knife in our heart ... I have trouble believing it, man. A couple days after I found that out, I had a little trouble doing interviews, because, in the back of my mind, it was like, 'Is this the guy? Should I be killing this guy instead of talking nice to him?' It took a while to put it all into perspective."

He continued, "I believe [the label] is planning legal action, and I think that's what's going to have to happen. You can't penalize someone for downloading it. You don't hate on the fans because of it. I think it's going to take recourse on the responsible people ... if we're not going to police our own, and hold our comrades and colleagues up to high moral standards, then what can we expect? It's up to us to not only try and behave ethically, but to call out others when they engage in unethical behavior."

NILE recently released the first taste of "Those Whom the Gods Detest". Produced and mixed by Neil Kernon (NEVERMORE, CANNIBAL CORPSE, QUEENSRŸCHE),along with a drum-recording job by Erik Rutan (CANNIBAL CORPSE, VITAL REMAINS, GOATWHORE),the CD features the band's strongest production and perhaps its best material to date. The cover artwork was created by Michal "Xaay" Loranc, whom NILE guitarist/vocalist Karl Sanders had previously worked with on his second solo album, "Saurian Exorcisms".

The song "Permitting the Noble Dead to Descend to the Underworld" is now available for streaming on the band's MySpace page.

Sanders told Revolver magazine earlier in the year that the band's sixth full-length album will likely be NILE's most eclectic offering to date. "We're going to some very unexpected places," he said. "I've been listening to some oud music [the oud is a Middle Eastern lute — Ed.], Iranian music, and some Hindu stuff, and that stuff's definitely rubbing off on the new songs."

"Those Whom the Gods Detest" is scheduled for a November 3 North American release via Nuclear Blast Records.