Review Summary: Entering to the next dimension of death metal.
Formed by ex-Morbid Angel drummer Mike Browning, Nocturnus achieved no simple task by being a band that truly managed to stick out in the crowded scene of early 90’s death metal. Delivering the genre’s usual fast-paced, tremolo-picking riffs with a high sense of instrumental sophistication, bringing keyboards (a concept virtually unknown in extreme metal at the time) and sci-fi themed lyrics into the mix, the Florida-based group developed a unique musical style like no other. Their usage of synths could have easily backfired, but instead of cheese they managed to add to the malevolance the guitars provided.
The band’s first (and most well-known record) The Key was hailed as one of the most original metal albums ever recorded, as the breakneck furious, and jaw-droppingly complex guitar work were drenched in a doomish atmosphere, haunting keyboard sections and a fascinating story that linked the songs together. Two years later, Thresholds came out, and Nocturnus weren’t playing safe again. Adding in an extra member, putting an even bigger focus on the keyboards, and the sci-fi elements, while also amping up the six-string wizardry, Thresholds to this day remains one of the boldest, most experimental metal gems of its era.
Beginning with a distorted vocal introduction and some chugging accords, the opener “Climate Controller” quickly abandons the patch, and becomes sheer unhinged, maniac fury, hectically switching between fast paced riffs, more headbangle middle sections and unexpected neo-classical arpeggio breakdowns. Not to mention Louis Panzer’s keyboard section which not only booms ominously in the back providing the atmosphere, but often imitates the jumps and shrieks of the guitars. These playful and experimental interchanges between the rhythmic and the keyboard section is one of the key integral parts of not only of the album, but the band’s sound in general. Whether it’s the spacey clings in the instrumental “Nocturne in B Minor”, the 80’s horror synthys of “Aquatica” or the jungle/aztec atmosphere of “Subterranean Infiltrator” every song is provided with its own unique sonic landscape. Death metal albums often get the criticism that every song sounds the same, but Nocturnus makes it damn sure to avoid that.
But what also has an equally if not bigger role, is the absolutely wicked guitar work of Mike Davis and Sean McNemmery who fill the album with one breakneck, complex composition after another. And despite the technicality and the often unorthodox time signature changes they still throw in a few riffs that makes the songs catchy and accessible, like the main riff of “Arctic Crypt” that almost sounds like classic, semi-fast Bay Area-thrash only detuned and with some keyboards. Where there are some songs that fits closer to the conventional USDM style like “Subterranean Infiltrator”, other songs like “Gridzone” break up their traditional song structuring to multiple swirling patterns and bridges. Synths, acoustic guitar parts, they have it all. And of course the trade-off solo duels are equally awe-inspiring, by combining blistering speed, precision, with a sense of actual melody not just random notes coming after another.
Newcomer Dan Izzo took the vocal duties on Thresholds allowing Mike Browning to fully concentrate on his drumming, and they both excel at their position. Izzo’s growling vocals are not only lower and even more menacing than Browning’s, but they are also clearer, often times reminding me of Max Cavalera’s grunts on the early Sepultura records. Browning’s drumming is also intense and precise, not only matching well to the Pete Sandoval School of Double-Bass and Quick Fills, but also to the more experimental side of the songs. Production is both biting and clear, and while it’s more polished than The Key it manages to maintain the biting edge.
Thresholds and Nocturnus’s music required a certain taste and while the first two records managed to carve out a loyal, niche audience, sadly the band didn’t survived too long. Tensions between Mike Browning and the rest of the group began to rise after the release of the album, leading to his dismissal. Line-up changes followed, their contract was dropped, and the band soon split up. A half-hearted return attempt was made in the late 90’s, but the third record Etheral Tomb couldn’t recapture the magic and the musical consistency of the first two albums. Nocturnus may have dissolved into the abyss, but their music remains as a rock-solid, timeless testament to one of the most creative and talented groups in death metal history.
