I could not believe it at first, but the shit sounds even faster than on Annihilation Of The Wicked. If you liked the previous material, you can buy this record blindly. It has everything you want from a Nile record. Machine gun-like bassdrums which reach ridiculous speeds, monstrous grooves, ear-piercing shreds, slow dragging heaviness, and of course your Egyptian history lessons. There is definitely some of the fastest and most technical death metal to be found on Ithyphallic.

 

The main difference that I’ve spotted is that the drums, besides being faster again, have a slightly different sound. Especially the snare has a very distinct sound which sounds quite awesome I might say. For the rest I just have to mention that while on most Nile albums there is one (or more) riff that really makes my balls gain ten pounds, you know, like a ‘and now I will kill the entire planet’ moment. Well, I haven’t found it on Ithyphallic yet, but there sure are some potential candidates here and there, especially the slow intro riff on the title track.

 

Fans will be pleased with this one. Nile haven’t reinvented themselves, just speeded up a bit. I am pretty sure that I will play this record many times to come, and I can’t wait to catch them out on the road again, it has been too long.