THE KEY

Nocturnus

Tech/Extreme Prog Metal

4.07 | 42 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

toroddfuglesteg

Although few people own this album, it's influence on the scene cannot be underestimated.

This is the first ever brutal metal album which incorporated keyboards in the sound. It was an eyeopener of an album. It started a new scene. In fact, I would be so frisky to say that this album is perhaps the grandfather of Progarchives Tech/Extreme Prog Metal category. No modesty, then.

Mike Browning was the drummer in the first incarnation of Morbid Angel. For reasons I have forgotten, this incarnation of Morbid Angel broke up after the recording of Abominations of Desolation (later released in 1991) and Mike Browning started out this band Nocturnus. Morbid Angel later reformed with a new lineup and unleashed their masterpiece Altars of Madness. That's the history lesson.........

To a large extent, this album pretty much sounds like a Morbid Angel album. That is, with added keyboards and some melody too. Something which also takes this album into Death, Cynic, Sadist and Pestilence territory. The songs here are all well structured although they are based in chaotic death metal. The guitars riffs is crunching heavy and the speed is at about two hundred miles an hour. The keyboards is there to add some more texture to the sound and it succeed 100 % with that task. All credits to Louis Panzer for this job here.

The quality is surprising good. The production is not particular great and a re-master which gave the sound a bit more air would had benefited this album a lot. But this album is not basement quality either. Best of all; the songs here are all great. OK, there is no real killer tracks. But the quality never dips down under great. Thankfully, there is no boring keyboards only tracks here. This album is full on death metal all the way through.

I have owned a copy of this album since the day it was released and I am actually surprised how well it has stood the test of time. I am truly impressed by this album and awards it four stars.

4 stars

toroddfuglesteg | 4/5 | 2010-7-20

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