Nile

While many in heavy metal circles have maligned games like 'Guitar Hero' and 'Rock Band' as potential impediments to rock and roll's evolution, Nile's Karl Sanders, who was once named the fourth greatest guitarist of all time by Decibel magazine, has no problem with 'Guitar Hero.' In fact, the frontman for the South Carolina-based Egyptian death metall act ("Certainly, there's not a whole lot going on in South Carolina to use as death metal fodder," he says) is actually looking forward to the future of death metal.

"I think influence to play the guitar comes from a bunch of places," Sanders tells Noisecreep. "My first thought when I saw this 'Guitar Hero' game ... because my son picked it up and was all about it for a while ... but some kids will pick it up, and that's as far as they'll go and they'll be satisfied. But, like my kid ... he doesn't play 'Guitar Hero' anymore, and now, he's in there working on his guitar playing, and playing AC/DC and Metallica."

While he can understand how some people might see the games as distracting future guitar gods from actually learning the old-fashioned version of the instrument, "I think when it all comes out of the wash, it won't be a plus or a minus. Maybe its been a plus, because guitar music has sort of come back to some extent. There's is revived interest in guitar music, which I think is healthy."

He credits the game with introducing the younger generations to old school bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, too. "Why else would kids care about these bands?," he says. "They're picking up these bands on their own, and it's because that music is timeless, and the simple honesty of playing the f---ing guitar and singing your ass off is real stuff. And it transcends just mere stupid cultural boundaries of the year 2000. I think it's healthy for the future of music."

So, are there any bands Sanders is psyched for? "There's a new band from New Zealand I'm really fond of called Ulcerate ... just an incredible metal band," he offers. "A band from the Carolinas called Lecherous Nocturne ... holy Jesus motherf---ing Christ, it's the most brutal, blasphemous, out there death metal I've seen in so long. I'm actually hopeful about where death metal will be in five years ... the next generation of guys playing death metal. They'll take everything that came before and build upon it. Where death metal will be in a few years ... that's kind of exciting for me.'

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