Nile
Those Whom the Gods Detest
Is Nothing Sacred? | Nuclear Blast
Ithyphallic was a misfire, plain and simple. With a band as consistent as Nile (since 1998’s Hall of Fame inductee Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka), it’s no wonder many of us were dismayed upon hearing their fifth studio full-length: everything about Ithyphallic just sounded off. The songwriting felt like Nile-by-numbers— not inspired. The cool Egyptian-themed ambient touches seemed to be downplayed. The production was distressingly thin, the bottom end practically nonexistent, a truly bizarre thing to hear on a record by one of the most punishing bands in death metal. Hell, even Karl Sanders’ famous, meticulously researched liner notes weren’t there either, and were missed so much by fans that Decibel’s own Rod Smith took it upon himself to have Sanders provide a detailed breakdown in issue #34.
But that’s all part of musical growth; the best bands learn from past mistakes, and the trio of guitarist/vocalists Sanders and Dallas Toler-Wade and drummer George Kollias waste no time redeeming themselves on Those Whom the Gods Detest, quickly rendering Ithyphallic flaccid. Everything we love about Nile is back in a huge way, and we couldn’t be happier: the riffs are typically insane, but deviously catchy as well, Neil Kernon’s usual crystalline sound is augmented by a denser bass tone, the exotic segues and instrumentals are prominent once more, and yes, those well-written liner notes are even there again, too.
But most importantly, the passion has clearly returned, something we notice instantly on opener “Kafir!”, the most contagious Nile track since “Lashed to the Slave Stick,” Sanders’ and Toler-Wade’s usual serpentine Middle Eastern harmonies quickly giving way to a simple, wicked buzzsaw rhythm riff as Sanders engages in some Brion Gysin-esque wordplay at the expense of the Koran: “There is no God but God… There is no God / There is no God!” “Utterances of the Crawling Dead,” suitably, slows down to a massive, slogging pace, Sanders himself sounding like the crawling dead, his ungodly growl put to brilliant use.
The album’s more direct fare scorches, “Permitting the Noble Dead to Descend to the Underworld” led by the lively opening riffing and driven by Kollias’ machine gun-like blasting—and thank Ra the kick drums aren’t anywhere near as clicky as the last record—while “Hittite Dung Incantation,” in addition to being brutal as fuck, sees Toler-Wade and Sanders growling the instant classic line, “I mix the dung of a dog / Foul canine excrement…WITH BARLEY FLOOOUUUR.” As intriguing as the lesson in the magical powers of poo is, the record best exerts its strength on the two eight-minute epics that form its centerpiece. Requisite Lovecraftian detour “4th Arra of Dagon” is a masterfully-paced mood piece, whereas the Wagner-esque title track packs in as much as it can, from subtle nods to “Zero the Hero” to the downright shocking melodic refrain. Dudes, we’ll never doubt you again.
—Adrien Begrand