Ithyphallic continues the band's brutal death metal sprinkled with Egyptian/Middle Eastern lyrics and influences. Most of the time Nile careens forward at warp speed with crushing riffs and devastating blast beats. There are times they slow down the tempos and ease off the throttle before stomping on the accelerator again. Those tempo changes are a much needed change of pace, and the Middle Eastern sections also add some variety. The album is bookended by two long and epic tracks with more focused and shorter songs in between.
The dual vocals of Karl Sanders and Dallas Toler-Wade are the usual death metal cookie monster growls, but are more understandable than a lot of death metal bands. Ithyphallic follows a road that Nile has been down before, but that road is paved with great musicianship and well-written songs.
