Its almost shocking for those of us that care about such things to see Nile leave their long-time home of Relapse Records and hop over to Nuclear Blast. But nothings really changed with this new disc, except theres a better production sound, the lack of which has plagued many a Nile release. Yeah, the bass drums still sound goofy, just not as goofy. The opening track, the eight-minute "What Can Be Safely Written, has all the elements that make Nile so damn good: raging blast beats, ultra-slow-mo sludge parts, many guitar solos and, of course, the Egyptian overtones. "As He Creates So He Destroys is as streamlined and hard-hitting as the best of the bands material from their classic Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka, and "Eat of the Dead slows things down to a wonderfully painful doom metal crawl. "Laying Fire Upon Apep has some of the fastest kick drum work Ive heard in a while. And while the album is certainly laborious and slightly oppressive, thats always the case with these guys. The production helps take away from that oppressive vibe and gives the band a new energy, one that perhaps was increased by their new label home. Oh, and you were asking about the stupidest song title ever? Sure, its right here: "Papyrus Containing the Spell to Preserve Its Possessor against Attacks from He Who Is in the Water.
The disc has a lot of energy to it, more so than the last couple Nile releases. Do you agree?
Guitarist/vocalist Karl Sanders: Yes. There was some incredible energy with the band when we wrote those songs, when we rehearsed them, recorded them and now out on tour playing them.
I thought this might have to do with the label jump. Did this affect the recording of the album in any way?
Perhaps, in the sense that with the new label we knew we were going to get a chance to show people what this band are really capable of.
I also love the production sound of the album; its got a rawer feel than you usually have. Was this intentional?
Yes. Ithyphallic is a very accurate representation of the way we actually sound in the band room. In that sense, its a very honest record. It captures our natural brutality in a real kind of way.
Will you ever run out of Egyptian-related themes to write about?
Never!
(Nuclear Blast)The disc has a lot of energy to it, more so than the last couple Nile releases. Do you agree?
Guitarist/vocalist Karl Sanders: Yes. There was some incredible energy with the band when we wrote those songs, when we rehearsed them, recorded them and now out on tour playing them.
I thought this might have to do with the label jump. Did this affect the recording of the album in any way?
Perhaps, in the sense that with the new label we knew we were going to get a chance to show people what this band are really capable of.
I also love the production sound of the album; its got a rawer feel than you usually have. Was this intentional?
Yes. Ithyphallic is a very accurate representation of the way we actually sound in the band room. In that sense, its a very honest record. It captures our natural brutality in a real kind of way.
Will you ever run out of Egyptian-related themes to write about?
Never!