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Nile: Ithyphallic
22/08/11 || Smalley
Nile’s a great band if you want a study in musical excess; crazy technicality? Check. Use of bombastic, over-the-top orchestra instrumentation? Check. Obsessive, obscure ancient Egyptian/Elder God-focused lyrics, with traditional Middle Eastern instrument usage, song titles in other languages, and a song named “Papyrus containing the spell to preserve its possessor against attacks from he who is in the water”?? Check, check, and double check!
Not bad for a couple-a good ol’ boys (and one Greek) from my home state of South Carolina, eh? But despite all their Egyptian geekery and bombast, Nile can actually make pretty intense, groovy, satisfying tech death sometimes, and while 2007’s “Ithyphallic” isn’t in the top tier of their discography, it certainly isn’t near the bottom either. For me, it’s about on the same level as their previous effort, 05’s “Annihilation of the wicked”; while it does lack the sharp production and overall energy of “Annihilation”, “Ithyphallic” does have more focused songwriting and better use of the slower songs, so the two records balance out about even in the end.
Opener “What can be safely written” kicks in with a clusterfuck of epic, melodramatic-but-still-kick-ass orchestra instruments, before a brutal rhythm guitar and George Kollias’s machine gun drumming join up, in what is probably the best application of the “S&M” principle to tech death ever (“S&M” meaning the Metallica live album, not the Rihanna song, or uh… well, you know). After those Boston Pops-wannabes drop out of things, the song naturally takes on a more standard tech sound, but while “written” certainly isn’t Nile’s best song, and it does get a little messy in the second half, it still manages to satisfy with effective variations between the fast and slower sections, and Nile’s overall solid meld of speed, technicality, & groove. Oh yeah, and that incredible, incredibly long centerpiece solo at around the 6:45 mark is a very nice cherry on top too.
From there, “As he creates so he destroys”, “Papyrus containing…”, and “The essential salts” are all enjoyably intense, fast cuts, “Eat of the dead” is a good, methodical slower track, the title track gives us a spot-on mix of fast/slow, and “The infinity of stone” is a nice, soothing little acoustic instrumental before diving back into the tech death fray on the final two songs (and the only such interlude here; taking notes, Morbid Angel?).
It doesn’t have a whole lot of standout cuts, but “Ithyphallic” is still full of satisfying, all-around consistent tech death nonetheless, so I have to give it the songwriting edge over “Annihilation of the wicked”, which sometimes just mindlessly spun its wheels ‘round. While the songs here generally don’t have as much energy as on “Annihilation”, I still have to say that the added focus of the songwriting on “Ithyphallic” edges out “Annihilation”‘s in the end.
What doesn’t edge out “Annihilation”, however, is “Ithyphallic”‘s production; the rhythm guitar sound is disappointingly muffled, lacking the sharp, thicker, meatier edge of the previous album, and the drum sound is too clanky for my taste, a real pity, considering how skilled Kollias is on the skins. It isn’t an awful production, and I do like the rusty kind of edge the lead guitar has, but the production still hurts “Ithyphallic”‘s final score.
So, if the production and overall energy level here were on par with “Annihilation”, and the songwriting a bit more memorable, we’d be looking at a great Nile record ala “In their darkened shrines” or “Those whom the gods detest”, instead of a good one. Still, there’s plenty to appreciate here; Kollias ripping things the fuck up with his incredibly relentless, precise, and varied percussion, crazy guitar solos, brutal rhythm work, and a good mixture of fast, relentless sections and slow, punishing ones. While “Ithyphallic” doesn’t quite give me an erect phallus like Nile’s best albums, I still say if you’re looking for unique tech death with personality, awesome performances, and actual songwriting, it’s laughably easy to do worse.
- Information
- Released: 2007
- Label: Nuclear Blast
- Website: www.nile-catacombs.net
- Band
- Dallas Toler-Wade: vocals, guitars, bass
- George Kollias: drums
- Karl Sanders: vocals, guitars
- Tracklist
- 01. What Can Be Safely Written
- 02. As He Creates So He Destroys
- 03. Ithyphallic
- 04. Papyrus Containing The Spell To Preserve Its Possessor Against Attacks From He Who Is In The Water
- 05. Eat Of The Dead
- 06. Laying Fire Upon Apep
- 07. The Essential Salts
- 08. The Infinity Of Stone
- 09. The Language Of The Shadows
- 10. Even the Gods Must Die
