- Oct 22, 2006
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Nile - Ithyphallic
Nuclear Blast - July 17th
By Dan Fisher
Looking at the past collection of Nile albums and the progression of technicality and brutality, you would be forgiven for wondering where the band might go next. Indeed, in an interview back in 2005, Karl Sanders explained that some of the riffs from Annihilation were so difficult that they were written before the band were good enough to play them! A quick spin through tracks such as 'Cast Down The Heretic' and 'Flaming Pits Of The Duath' will confirm this to anyone who has worked in a band before. So what, then, do Nile have in store for us with Ithyphallic?
Well perhaps I should put the name in context first. The word is used to describe certain gods in Ancient Egypt that were associated with the phallic symbol or penis. Looking at the cover art in this context, we begin to understand why it depicts the Egyptian masses worshipping around a giant phallic monument. While not wanting to put words in the band's mouth, the album might well be focusing on the ideas of god-like potency and fertility and the eventual decline of this potency, when certain gods become less fashionable, for a number of reasons, and lose their divine status. Certainly an engaging concept and one that resonates with many issues today concerning religious and cultural decline. So what about the music then?
The album begins with 'What Can Be Safely Written', an eight minute plus epic that opens with horns and enormous toms, exploding into a flurry of excellent riffs, trademark double-kicking and lightening fast vocals. Deadly and masterful, its slick dissention from blistering passages into sludgey slabs that move tectonically together to cause country-wide earthquakes of sound, are an interesting new weapon to Nile's arsenal. It is apparent that the production is better on this album; Wade's snarled growls are well defined and the drums and guitars are crisper than before. In some places I was a little dismayed to hear heavily triggered drum sampling which made the final render seem rather plastic. Look for an example about 3 minutes in, on the track 'Eat of the Dead'. The drums are heard clearly and they sound rather two dimensional. However, the sense of brooding dread created in nearly all the album really overrides any negative feelings about it.
Wade's vocals are generally excellent and provide some brilliant moments. My personal favourite is in 'Laying the Fire Upon Apep' where his snarl turns into screams of anguish in places. I can't wait to find out what the bloody hell he is growling about! I was annoyed however that Karl Sanders' ultra low growl wasn't used more. There is little of the interplay of previous albums between the contrasting voices and the album suffers slightly because of it. In terms of guitars, the band have obviously got sick of playing carpal tunnel syndrome inducing solos and decided to employ huge, whammy bar scoops and bends to create atmospheric lead work. This is an interesting trade-off and one I'm not entirely happy with. I was looking forward to hearing more extended solos ala 'Cast Down The Heretic'. Sadly it was not be. There is a big positive with the guitars though, in that the riffing is superbly sludgey on some tracks. The end of the title track 'Ithyphallic' is officially Nile's Best. Ending. Ever. It sounds like Mars has somehow broken free of its orbit and collided with Jupiter. Primal Concrete Sludge baby. Then there is 'Papyrus Containing The Spell To Preserve Its Possessor Against Attacks From He Who Is In The Water.' This is just brilliant. Coming in at just under three minutes (presumably why they felt they needed to overcompensate with the length of the name), this is why Nile are at top of their game. Unrelenting brutality, snaking riffage, excellent production and an insanely catchy chorus crying: ''Preserve Me! From He Who Is In The Water!’' Indeed. The only dud on the album is 'Language of the Shadows' which has nothing new to offer and should have been omitted. The album also uncharacteristically finishes weakly with about three minutes of wailing guitar at the end of 'Even The Gods Must Die'. I suppose this is representative of the god's death throws but I don't think the last track was anywhere near as well structured as the other epic, opener 'What Can Be Safely Written'.
This is a great album and despite it's ferocity it is also very listenable and will have a good shelf life when played in years to come. There have certainly been improvements in some areas, building on the groundwork of Black Seeds and Annihilation. But I do think that the songwriting, as a whole album, is not quite as well thought out on Ithyphallic. For the uninitiated Nile noob though, here is some free advice: You'll probably want to sit down when you first listen to it.
Official Nile Website
Official Nuclear Blast Website
Nuclear Blast - July 17th
By Dan Fisher
Looking at the past collection of Nile albums and the progression of technicality and brutality, you would be forgiven for wondering where the band might go next. Indeed, in an interview back in 2005, Karl Sanders explained that some of the riffs from Annihilation were so difficult that they were written before the band were good enough to play them! A quick spin through tracks such as 'Cast Down The Heretic' and 'Flaming Pits Of The Duath' will confirm this to anyone who has worked in a band before. So what, then, do Nile have in store for us with Ithyphallic?
Well perhaps I should put the name in context first. The word is used to describe certain gods in Ancient Egypt that were associated with the phallic symbol or penis. Looking at the cover art in this context, we begin to understand why it depicts the Egyptian masses worshipping around a giant phallic monument. While not wanting to put words in the band's mouth, the album might well be focusing on the ideas of god-like potency and fertility and the eventual decline of this potency, when certain gods become less fashionable, for a number of reasons, and lose their divine status. Certainly an engaging concept and one that resonates with many issues today concerning religious and cultural decline. So what about the music then?
The album begins with 'What Can Be Safely Written', an eight minute plus epic that opens with horns and enormous toms, exploding into a flurry of excellent riffs, trademark double-kicking and lightening fast vocals. Deadly and masterful, its slick dissention from blistering passages into sludgey slabs that move tectonically together to cause country-wide earthquakes of sound, are an interesting new weapon to Nile's arsenal. It is apparent that the production is better on this album; Wade's snarled growls are well defined and the drums and guitars are crisper than before. In some places I was a little dismayed to hear heavily triggered drum sampling which made the final render seem rather plastic. Look for an example about 3 minutes in, on the track 'Eat of the Dead'. The drums are heard clearly and they sound rather two dimensional. However, the sense of brooding dread created in nearly all the album really overrides any negative feelings about it.
Wade's vocals are generally excellent and provide some brilliant moments. My personal favourite is in 'Laying the Fire Upon Apep' where his snarl turns into screams of anguish in places. I can't wait to find out what the bloody hell he is growling about! I was annoyed however that Karl Sanders' ultra low growl wasn't used more. There is little of the interplay of previous albums between the contrasting voices and the album suffers slightly because of it. In terms of guitars, the band have obviously got sick of playing carpal tunnel syndrome inducing solos and decided to employ huge, whammy bar scoops and bends to create atmospheric lead work. This is an interesting trade-off and one I'm not entirely happy with. I was looking forward to hearing more extended solos ala 'Cast Down The Heretic'. Sadly it was not be. There is a big positive with the guitars though, in that the riffing is superbly sludgey on some tracks. The end of the title track 'Ithyphallic' is officially Nile's Best. Ending. Ever. It sounds like Mars has somehow broken free of its orbit and collided with Jupiter. Primal Concrete Sludge baby. Then there is 'Papyrus Containing The Spell To Preserve Its Possessor Against Attacks From He Who Is In The Water.' This is just brilliant. Coming in at just under three minutes (presumably why they felt they needed to overcompensate with the length of the name), this is why Nile are at top of their game. Unrelenting brutality, snaking riffage, excellent production and an insanely catchy chorus crying: ''Preserve Me! From He Who Is In The Water!’' Indeed. The only dud on the album is 'Language of the Shadows' which has nothing new to offer and should have been omitted. The album also uncharacteristically finishes weakly with about three minutes of wailing guitar at the end of 'Even The Gods Must Die'. I suppose this is representative of the god's death throws but I don't think the last track was anywhere near as well structured as the other epic, opener 'What Can Be Safely Written'.
This is a great album and despite it's ferocity it is also very listenable and will have a good shelf life when played in years to come. There have certainly been improvements in some areas, building on the groundwork of Black Seeds and Annihilation. But I do think that the songwriting, as a whole album, is not quite as well thought out on Ithyphallic. For the uninitiated Nile noob though, here is some free advice: You'll probably want to sit down when you first listen to it.
Official Nile Website
Official Nuclear Blast Website
