Thresholds

“The Key” was “the key” to the technical/progressive death metal movement in the USA; it stood on top of great thrash/death hybridization masterpieces like Vacant Grave’s “Life or Death”, Atheist’s “Piece of Time”, Hellwitch’s “Syzygial Miscreancy”, and Incubus’ “Beyond the Unknown”. Once “the key” was found, there was no need to look for it anymore. An album like this simply happens once in a lifetime, a thought that many fans simply can’t get used to, and continue to wait for the appearance of the next “Unquestionable Presence”, the new “Deception Ignored”, or “Killing Technology 2”. Those opuses had already been made so what’s the big deal about moving on, I wonder…

when talking about distinguished follow-ups to great albums, the one reviewed here should be on the tip of every metalhead’s tongue. If I have to be very honest, I was also one of those who were secretly hoping for “The Key 2” back then, and couldn’t accept “Thresholds”’ more relaxed, more complicated character when it came out. Not until I bought the actual CD which happened quite a few years later. I found it in a shop where it was the only metal CD; the guy there had concentrated on rock, blues, psychedelia and other similar nonsenses, and had amassed a huge collection of them. During my very quick, very perfunctory perusal through a heap of CD’s, I spotted Nocturnus’ “Thresholds”! It was so fucking surreal, I thought I was mistaken initially… well, I wasn’t cause here it was, the American death metallers’ sophomore, “unwinding” in the eccentric company of Frank Zappa, The Doors, and Jefferson Airplane. Naturally the guy had no idea how it had ended up there, I guess he was misled by the cosmic concept and the “Star Wars”-like cover art, but he was more than happy to get rid of it.

So the Nocturnus team continued with their explorations of the mysteries of the Universe, only under a slightly modified musical approach. The delivery is still fairly technical, but not as flamboyant and exuberant, like the guys had decided to give more freedom to their more elaborate compositional side which comes with longer, more thought-out tracks with a more overt progressive flair. The more moderate slower riffage of “Climate Controller” already suggests at an oncoming metamorphosis, and even when the faster-paced passage hits, it comes with more restrained guitars as though the band are holding something back, not willing to reach all the way to the hyper-active parametres that were so prominent on the debut. No complaints whatsoever as said opener is a carefully crafted shredder with a lot of nuances embedded including a fever-pitch crescendo with classical overtones. Mystical Oriental atmosphere permeates “Tribal Vodoun” which lets the gorgeous melodic tunes do the talking for a start before the bass interferes followed by a virtuoso lead section, with dense technical riffs interfering for a bit this amalgam retaining the richly atmospheric overtones.

“Nocturne in B m” is a short 3-min instrumental with the leads taking the upper hand weaving beautiful tapestries in league with the keyboards which otherwise don’t play such a big role here. “Arctic Crypt” is a more conventional thrash/deathster sustained in a consistent mid-pace with serene balladic sections adding more to the “idyll” which is also enhanced by a lush keyboard motif at the end. “Aquatica” naturally begins with some water sounds, but before the listener gets drowned in them, resume the rifforamas and reach intense thrashy proportions, but more diversity comes served later with heavy seismic passages and more tangibly present keyboards. “Subterranean Infiltrator” commences with some really stylish shred which becomes more and more dynamic, also more technical, as time goes by, and when the speed hits later the symbiosis reaches spiral-like dramatic dimensions recalling the debut. “Alter Reality” tries to “alter the reality” with a more sinister, more macabre exposition and almost succeeds interrupted by the faster-paced dash which again clings more towards thrash with more drama poured mid-way, with twisted technical riffs galore that also dominate the second half. “Gridzone” is a superb progressive composition with imposing operatic arrangements with the keyboards brought back in action, but their “duel” with the guitars is one-of-a-kind ensuring plenty of delightful moments those intercepted by less “climate” controlled short blast-beating outbursts; it’s the leads that put an end to this brutal episode occupying more space here as a finale.

The compulsive, eager display of ideas and originality from the debut is almost nowhere to be found here. This is a very carefully crafted work, with attention to every detail leaving very little room for spontaneity also increasing the melodic undercurrents even to the point of oversaturation at times. Amazingly the latter is achieved without the overuse of the keyboards as there are enough hard-hitting moments to ensure a wider interest from the fanbase. Thrash is even more frequently called for help than on the more dynamic and more aggressive debut, and when said style is in play, the delivery strangely reminds of acts like Despair, Obliveon and partially Anacrusis. A friend of mine has always considered Nocturnus a thrash/death metal act although to these ears thrash has always played a part-time, assisting role into the band’s repertoire.

The sequel to “The Key” came and went, by all means leaving a trace on the field. It left some disappointed, it pleasantly surprised others, and it kind of left something to be completed on a potential third instalment. Since such occurrence never followed in the next couple of years, the audience gradually forgot about these pioneers focusing on the new aggro/groovy/post-thrashy trends and other more fashionable styles (gothic, industrial, new black, etc.). Well, it turned out that not all was quiet on the Nocturnus front as the third coming appeared eventually, albeit after a lengthy delay. Although “Ethereal Tomb” was a logical evolution from its predecessor in terms of reduction of speed and less technical ways of expression, it went a bit too far in both aspects as it barely contained a more dynamic, fast-paced passage, and it only hinted at the previous intricate shredfests. It had a labyrinthine complex structure, and with the insistent keyboard motifs murmuring in the background one would have no problems recognizing the good old Nocturnus; it’s just that in their case seven years was way too long a period for the guys to be able to pull themselves together for another strong showing.

They could have nailed it on future works, by all means, but they didn’t last very long although the bass player and singer Emo Mowery and the guitarist Mike Davis had a short stint under the name Tiwanaku, and actually managed to do a very good job on the only demo (self-titled) they released in 2003, combining progressive, thrash and a bit of death metal in a fairly listenable, engaging way. The Nocturnus saga had a posthumous continuation in the form of several compilations that saw the light of day later in the new millennium, but it seems as though new visitations haven’t been scheduled. Until the next delegation from out of space…