Karl Sanders
is an American death metal band from Greenville, South Carolina, United States, formed in 1993. Their music and lyrics are inspired by Ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern mysticism, history, religion, and ancient art, as well as the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Nile formed in their hometown of Greenville in 1993, from the ashes of a previous band, Morriah, in which Karl Sanders played since the 1980s.

The majority of Nile’s music is written by vocalist/guitarist Karl Sanders. It combines traditional and technical death metal. Nile’s music is also characterized by its extreme complexity and speed – for which the band has received acknowledgement from many music fans and journalists – and its extremely “heavy” riffing, due to Nile’s guitar and bass tunings, which are normally Dropped A tuning.

Much of the lyrical content is based on Sanders’ interest in Egyptology and other ancient Middle Eastern cultures, such as Mesopotamia. H.P. Lovecraft also seems to have an enduring influence upon Nile’s lyrical themes; the word “Nile” and the title of Nile’s first full-length album can both be found in the same sentence of Lovecraft’s short story “The outsider”. Lengthy sleeve notes are included with the albums Black Seeds of Vengeance, In Their Darkened Shrines, Annihilation of the Wicked, Those Whom the Gods Detest, At the Gate of Sethu, and What Should Not Be Unearthed, explaining the inspiration or source for the lyrics of each song.