Nile — Ithyphallic

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

On this day (July 17) in 2007, Nile released their fifth full-length studio album, “Ithyphallic” via Nuclear Blast, in both standard and digipak formats.

“Ithyphallic” is the band's first album released on Nuclear Blast, since signing with them in May 2006. It is also the band's only album since “Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka” not to feature notes explaining the context of the lyrics.

1,000 limited edition copies of the album were released in a pyramid-shaped box containing the disc, several images, a certificate of ownership and a scroll containing the lyrics and liner notes from the album.

The cover art of this album depicts a statue of the god of fertility "Min", being erected by Egyptian slaves.

The title means "Erected Phallus" in ancient Greek.

Background:

To promote the album, throughout June and July of 2007, Nuclear Blast Records held a special contest to allow several fans to be able to listen to “Ithyphallic”. The rules were that they would have to be able to decipher a secret hieroglyphic message. If they won, they were given an email containing a link to a website where the album was posted for the free listening. On July 7, the contest ended, and the answer was revealed to be "papyrus."

“Papyrus Containing the Spell to Preserve its Possessor Against Attacks from He Who is in the Water” was Nile's second single for the album, originally released only as a music download through Nuclear Blast's website. It contains the title-track, a rehearsal of "Laying Fire Upon Apep", and a video featuring a drum session from “Ithyphallic”.

In April 2008, Night of the Vinyl Dead Records announced the release of what they call as "the first-ever b”Brutal Death Metal-shaped picture disc". The 7-inch version of "Papyrus..." features the title-track on the A-side, with "As He Creates So He Destroys" and an instrumental version of "Papyrus.." as B-sides. It was limited to 500 copies hand-numbered on backing card.

Historical and Fictional References:

• "As He Creates So He Destroys", "Eat of the Dead", "The Essential Salts", "The Language of the Shadows" and "What Can Be Safely Written" are taken from Canadian occultist Donald Tyson's Necronomicon: The Wanderings of Alhazred, itself a tribute to the fictional mythology of H.P. Lovecraft.

• "Ithyphallic" means "to have the penis erect."

• "Laying Fire Upon Apep" is a reference to one of the methods described in the Books of Apophis that Ra would use to overcome the Fiend Apep in their nightly duels.

• "Papyrus Containing the Spell to Preserve its Possessor Against Attacks from He Who is in the Water" is a reference to a spell from The Book of the Dead. The spell is intended to protect those in the afterlife from being eaten by crocodiles.

• "The Essential Salts" is also a reference to the salts used to preserve the corpse of a Pharaoh in mummification, natron, although the term itself is from Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

Critical Reception:

Jackie Smit from Chronicles of Chaos wrote of “Ithyphallic”;

“The truth is that on any level, Nile have delivered another solid effort -- even if they aren't exactly showing us anything that they haven't done before. Yet relative to past records, “Ithyphallic” is more likely to prove satisfying rather than stunning. That said, most other bands would do well to simply come within sniffing distance of the benchmark that Nile has set for themselves, which sums it up really.”

“Ithyphallic” peaked at No. 162 on the Billboard Top 200 chart in 2007, and No. 4 on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers chart the same year.

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

▶ Listen to “Ithyphallic” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/ithyphallic/1479037127

▶ Listen to “Ithyphallic” via Spotify: Ithyphallic https://open.spotify.com/album/01dFw02I9AFMggZkb61xi3

▶ Watch the official music video for “Papyrus Containing the Spell to Preserve Its Possessor Against Attacks from He Who Is in the Water": https://youtu.be/oJ46jx1sf-0

▶ Follow Nile on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nilecatacombs

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells

Nile — Ithyphallic

Background:

Historical and Fictional References:

Critical Reception:

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

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