Metal Overview: Nocturnus

Happy Halloween once again, fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

Time for our second metal overview treat, and have I got a band for you! Much like Alcatrazz from back in May, today’s group is rather obscure, and it’s a crying shame that they are. In the early years of the formation of Death Metal, this group was already unique & ahead of the curve. The band appropriately in question.....is Nocturnus.

Yes, Nocturnus! Ever since their founding, this short-lived Death Metal band was unique for their usage of keyboards, which was practically unknown in the realm of Extreme Metal, and for their science-fiction themed lyrics, which was also unknown. Even after the breakup in 2002, Nocturnus still maintains a cult following of loyal fans, who continue to spread the word of this special Death Metal band. This will go by as quickly as my look at Alcatrazz, but this gem will shine just as bright. So get into your personal spaceship, blast your enemies into gory piles, and enjoy a look into the short-lived act Nocturnus. Engage!

The Key (1990)(Album)

The origins of Nocturnus begin all the way back in the 80s. 1987 to be exact. After the breakup of his band Incubus, drummer & vocalist Mike Browning assembled a group of his own: composed of former Incubus guitarist Gino Marino, former Agent Steel bassist Richard Bateman, and a second guitarist by the name of Vincent Crowley. This original lineup recorded one self-titled demo in 87, but shortly after Crowley left the band to join another (Acheron), and was replaced by 18-year old Mike Davis, a guitar prodigy & cousin of Gino Marino. Bateman quit shortly afterwards as well, joining Nasty Savage in the process.

After Bateman’s departure, in 1988 the band added new bassist Jeff Estes, and a keyboardist by the name of Louis Panzer. The addition of Panzer made the band unique within the Death Metal scene, providing an atmosphere that enhanced their science fiction theme & lyrics. This lineup managed to put out a demo by the name of Science of Horror, but in 1989, Marino quit the band. In his stead, Davis’s longtime friend & neighbor Sean McNenney. Together, Davis & Sean’s technical playing became another focus of Nocturnus.

In 1989, thanks in part to his friendship with Morbid Angel’s guitarist Trey Azagthoth, Browning managed to get Nocturnus signed to Earache Records. Recording with producer Tom Morris, the band released their debut album The Key in August of 1990. The theme & story was quite original: blending sci-fi and the occult, The Key tells the story of a cyborg, who time travels to 0 B.C., destroys Christianity, and in the process creating a modern empire.

The album was a surprising success, managing to eventually sell 70,000 copies worldwide. Sadly however, bassist Jeff Estes developed a drinking problem during this album’s production, which in turn caused his bass playing to deteriorate. So much so that Mike Davis ended up playing a majority of the bass on the album. Estes was eventually replaced with Jim O'Sullivan, and after the band toured on the Grindcrusher tour in support of The Key, but Jim departed not long after their tours were done.

Best Track? Destroying The Manger hands down! Perhaps one of the most controversial songs in Metal’s history, this track’s message of destroying the manger in which Jesus was cradled certainly got some people spooked. However, it’s not quite as insulting as some would say, despite it’s nature. There’s a nice keyboard buildup at the beginning, and then the listener is pushed right into a pit of furious guitar playing & drum work, all the while hearing Mike Browning describe everything that’s going on. I like a little spice in my music sometimes, and this just has the right amount of it.

Destroying The Manger

Worst Track? Much like any story-driven album (Metal or Otherwise), it’s kind of hard to pick things apart, positive or otherwise. To be honest, I like everything on here. The sci-fi & keyboard makes the Death Metal aspects come across as hokey, but on the whole The Key is a fantastic record, and serves as a nice alternative to the more traditional offerings of Extreme Metal of the time. Next album!

Thresholds (1992)(Album)

With the success of The Key, it seemed to be a bright future for Nocturnus. However, dark times were coming. In 1992 the band decided to get a full-time vocalist, although Browning was allowed to focus on drumming, and Earache promised the group a music video if they got a “Real” vocalist. Said vocalist came in the form of former Tortured Soul vocalist Dan Izzo, and  new bassist Chris Anderson to play with them for their 2nd album, Thresholds. With Browning focused more on the drums, Thresholds went in a far more space and sci-fi oriented direction when it came to lyrics. As far as instrumentation was concerned, things weren’t quite as intense, but things where made up in terms of diversity. There was an instrumental track, employment of acoustic guitars, and exotic forms of percussion.

Released on May 26, 1992 in the UK, and August the 18th here in the States, Thresholds didn’t sell quite as good as it’s predecessor (Mostly because of the direction it took), but fans & critics were generally favorable towards the album, with tracks like Arctic Crypt and Subterranean Infiltrator becoming fan favorites. During this time, Nocturnus got a new permanent bassist by the name of Emo Mowery, who’s prior commitment was for the band Malediction.

However, with this new acquisition, things continued to worsen for Nocturnus. There was a European tour for Thresholds, but the band was unsatisfied with Earache’s lack of promotion of the album, leading them to make little money off the tour. Things escalated even more when they came back to the United States: musical differences between Mike Browning and the rest of the band became more and more apparent, with the pinnacle of these differences being Sean McNenney and Louis Panzer, behind Browning’s back, ensuring rights to the bandname Nocturnus, which they also signed Mike Davis onto, but not Izzo or Mowery. Browing got fired shortly after this action, and to this very day there is bad blood between the McNenney/Panzer and Browning camps, and he was replaced by James Marcinek.

Best Track? For me it’s a tie between the atmospheric instrumental Nocturne in Bm, and the underwater brutality of Aquatica. The former sounds like something space marines would listen to during a voyage through the void, with the thoughts of war brooding in their minds. The later track comes across as simultaneously brutal yet ethereal. The sounds of water are sprinkled all over the song, but when things aren’t drowning in wetness, you’re treated to a sonic assault the likes of which have rarely been heard since 1992. A wonderful treat, if I say so myself!

Nocturne in Bm

Aquatica

Worst Track? This entire album is fantastic, not a bad song in sight! If one wanted to be nitpicky about Thresholds, one would complain about the slight bent more towards the prog side that the band experimented with in their first record. I don’t have a problem with this, as both Prog & Death Metal lend a lot to each other, and in the process create a fantastic record. If you like your Death Metal a bit on the stranger side, then Thresholds is the album for you!

Ethereal Tomb (1999)(Album)

With the new lineup, Nocturnus began recording new songs for a 3rd album, which included tracks like "Mummified", "The Invertebrate Plague", "The Great Spot", and "Orbital Decay", and all of these tracks were written by the combined efforts of Davis, McNenney, and Panzer. Unfortunately, Nocturnus began to lose label support from Earache as their contract was dropped around this time. The band eventually released a 2 song & self-titled EP in 1993, which included the track Mummified, along with a recycled song by the name of “Possess The Priest”. Unfortunately, Panzer, McNenney, and Marcinek all departed the band after this, and Nocturnus was effectively split-up, and the band members basically fell off the grid (Except for Mike Davis). However.....

In the late 90s, Sean McNenney and Louis Panzer started up again, creating some ambient metal riffage. Thinking that this new material could work for a brand new Nocturnus album, Mike Davis and Emo Mowery were brought back onto the project, along with their new drummer Rick Bizarro, and on October 1, 1999, Ethereal Tomb was released. Sadly, Ethereal Tomb was the last album from Nocturnus to be made, as the group broke up for good in 2002.

Best Track? Bit of a tie between Orbital Decay (The opening track) and Outland (The closing track). With the former song, I can picture the same space marines that were listening to Nocturne in Bm on Thresholds entering the orbit of a hostile planet, headbanging to this track. Outland is a pure instrumental track: there’s a breathtaking quality to everything despite the brutality in the first portion, and a mystical/astral presence comprising the second portion. I can picture a starship sailing through the milky way, and this track just echos throughout the void as they sail on.

Orbital Decay

Outland

Worst Track? If there was any problem with Ethereal Tomb, it would be the rather clean sound production. With their previous 2 records, there was a rawness to the sound that melded with the sci-fi flavor. Here, everything is much more crystal clear, ruining how gritty the last two albums were. Ethereal Tomb is still a heavy release full of headbanging riffage, but it's cleanliness is a little off putting.

Ethereal Tomb. Maybe a little more pure in terms of sound, but the overall quality of the music is still fantastic to listen to. If you like your Death Metal a bit cleaner, then this record might be what you’re looking for.

And that was a look at the obscure Nocturnus. Unique for their time, the band’s influenced has managed to touch a few bands, and still has a cult following to this day. If you like Death Metal, and you’re a fan of the funkier side of music, these sci-fi slayers might be for you.

Well, Halloween has come & gone here on the Heavy Metal Otaku blog, but we’ve got November coming, and it’s time for perhaps my biggest overview yet. It’s time......for the month of Motörhead.