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Ithyphallic
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Sanders and co deliver again
Review date: 2008-12-01 Rating: 8 out of 10
Ah, another year, another Nile album. You may be expecting more Egyptian themed technical brutality, ridiculous drumming and enough guitar riffs to fill a sarcophagus... and you'd be right
Like the other reviewers have mentioned, Nile aren't really looking to reinvent themselves on Ithyphallic, and it features all the trademark elements that have earned them one of the top spots in the Death Metal universe. and if it ain't broke, why fix it? but saying that Ithyphallic is exactly the same as every other Nile release would not be doing the band justice.
For starters, the most obvious change is that the band have opted, for the first time in history, to go with a slightly more polished and cleaner sounding production. I'm not sure if i like this or not, but it certainly makes it sound a little different, and as such the album is less of an endurance test then precious outings, but also looses some of its punch. Secondly, the band have gone for a slightly more simple vocal arrangment with only really one vocalist (Dallas) doing most of the work, and i kinda liked it. Along with that, although the album is still very technical, there seems to be less of a concentraion on jamming as many riffs and notes into ever song trice over, and a bit more focus on texture and grooves. As such, while the album didn't exactly wow me like Annihilation did, i found the songs slightly more memorable and having stronger melodies, giving the album a bit of a longer life span to me. Yeah, i guess i thought that the songs had more character and strangly, although this is not my favourite Nile cd, this is the one i listen to most and the one i find easiest to sit through from start to finish.
So, Ithyphallic is not that different from other Nile records, but i found the slighly toned down and 'less is more' approach to be very refershing and damn entertaining. But don't worry, Nile havn't lost any of their brutality or technical prowess and are still as evil as Skeletor. They just got slighly more refined.
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Reviews
Impressive, but missing something...
Review date: 2008-09-07 Rating: 6 out of 10
As an avid listener of Nile I was looking forward to this album as much as any of the others: each new CD had been a progression of the timeline of the Egyptian themed death metal band, and this new one the second studio album with the ferocious drumming of George Kollias.
Yet as I listened and re-listened, I found it to be lacking something. The members' technical prowess shines through as ever, yet the slick, swift riffs of the days of ITDS and BSOV seem to be disappearing... instead we have fairly predictable and straightforward (by their standard) licks, twinned with no vocal input from Mr Sanders and an album that's trying to sound really well-produced.
Not saying this album is all bad. But there are many great moments on it rather than many great songs. Stand out tracks for me are Language of the Shadows, Laying Fire Upon Apep, The Essential Salts and Papyrus Containing.
If you're a newcomer to Nile I would recommend one of their earlier albums, Black Seeds of Vengeance or In Their Darkened Shrines. The production's not nearly as polished, but the musical content shines through in ways words cannot describe.
very good but room for improvement
Review date: 2007-08-25 Rating: 8 out of 10
the guitar is phenomenal in this album
though for the majority of the album the vocals are extremely good
and creates a mood i feel parts are rushed and the vocals are more to squeeze in rather than be fluent
very impressive though!
Ithyphallic
Review date: 2007-08-22 Rating: 10 out of 10
Anyone looking for Nile to break new ground here will be sorely dissapointed, as the bands 5th album stays true to their formula of highly technical brutal death metal and Lovecraftian and Ancient Eygtian lyrical themes. To that extent one can argue that if you've heard one Nile album you've heard them all, but with such a blistering display of brutal riffing as displayed on 'Ithyphallic' all but the most jaded Nile fans should be in death metal heaven. Yes - it's the same old stuff, but when it sounds this good - who cares?
'Ithyphallic' is possibly slightly more direct than some previous offerings from the band, with less time faffing around with atmospheric Egyptian intros (probably a result of Karl Sanders scratching this creative itch with his own solo album) and more getting straight down to the headsnapping riffage. My personal favourite here is 'The Essential Salts' - a tune that starts at warp-speeds and still manages to build to an even more ferocious creshendo, but there really isn't a weak track to be found - and as a whole I'd rank this along with 'Nephren-Ka' and 'Annihilation of the Wicked' as one of the bands best records.
NB - There are a couple of limited versions of this album - the digipack version contains intrumental versions of two tracks, while there is an even more limited version housed in a pointless but gorgous pyramid display box.
death metals leaders
Review date: 2007-08-06 Rating: 8 out of 10
nile are like the mozarts of metal,they have their instruments working for them as opposed to the other way around.They bring new meaning to technical metal,it isnt that they are mathcore and have odd time signatures or anything like that,its that their riffs dazzle and put so many others to shame,they prove that death metal can be more than just noise,they bring death metal a new face,and with album number five,this album could well be death metal release of the year,not that i buy much death metal but nile are a band that are interesting.
Combining death metal with egyptian stylings isnt an easy thing,nile also incorporate horns,trumpets and keyboard,subtle in parts,majestic and deliberate in others but lets not forget that they walk the path of death metal but it is never one sided or paced,they can go like the hammers of hell or they can slow it down to teethgrinding levels,they arent predictable.
Dallas does most of the vocals this time and that seems to please many,he has a death metal voice but his vocals are more clear and you can almost sing along,some of the chorus' are as memorable as can be and thats a weird thing to mention in a death metal review.
The album is epic as usual but only two tracks can be called epic in length,the band know not to bombard the listener with overlong songs,as usual the drumming is glorious and fast,so fast in places that if you try to replicate this your arms may leap off and fall out the window.
Nile are respected and that wont change and whether they will hit the big time probably depends on various changes in how people think but this a rewarding album and i got it on friday and listened to it five times already and this is a winner in my eyes.
Product Details/Specifications
Artist(s):
Nile
Recording label: Nuclear Blast
Manufacturer: Nuclear Blast
EAN: 0727361172121
Binding: Audio CD
Release date: 2007-07-23
Universal product code (UPC): 727361172121
Number of discs: 1
Disc 1 Tracks:
1. What Can Be Safely Written
2. As He Creates So He Destroys
3. Ithyphallic
4. Papyrus Containing The Spell To Preserve Its Possessor Against Attacks From He Who Is In The Water
5. Eat Of The Dead
6. Laying Fire Upon Apep
7. Essential Salts
8. Infinity Of Stone
9. Language Of The Shadows
10. Even The Gods Must Die
Publishers: Nuclear Blast