Nile – Ithyphallic

Nile my friends! The death metal super band has come back better than ever with an album dynamite! Extreme, dynamic, ultrasonic, aristocratic. Really this band now has it all! But let’s get it all from the start. As soon as the predecessor of Ithyphallic was released many have said that it was their best release. I am sure that even now they will say the same thing. It’s something unexplainable. While it’s in the same motive as “In Annihilation Of The Wicked” it has aesthetics, without the listener can define the essential differences between the two releases.

For the production once again responsible is Neil Kernon, giving a sound to the songs in which they emerge the best way. Compact, clear, so that every instrument can sound clearly and above all BRUTAL! The difference is evident mainly in the drums sound which sound more physical than ever. To the compositive area now. The songs now have more essence without the extra jabber of the past. Don’t misunderstand me! They haven’t stopped being technical. On the contrary! The just have gotten more mature (not that they didn’t already have).

There certainly are enough new elements. Experiments with the rythms of drums (see Lying Fire Upon Apep) and parts in the guitars that reminded me enough of the “sick” moments of Morbid Angel. Something that might estrange many is that the long oriental songs that they used to write from the start of their career are missing. Of course I’m talking about sporadic compositions. Because the characteristic elements which made Nile stand out from the mass continue to exist. They are just better structured to the whole sum, which makes the album more interesting. I can’t easily pick the best songs of the album since all are one and one. But in case a gun in my forehead was put I’d discriminate the “As he creates, so he destroys”, “Ithyphallic” and “Essential Salts”. The lyrics once again deal with the same subjects but having a bigger width and a more personal point of view.

Really there’s nothing more I could write about this album. It’s one of the few times that I believe that words are unnecessary. I’m certain that Ithyphallic will be appreciated not only fans of the extreme space but people from the wider metal space.