Unicursal

Nocturnus (OK pedants, Nocturnus AD) might be the best veteran death metal band when it comes to making contemporary music. I couldn't care less about what Morbid Angel, Obituary or Deicide are doing these days. Those bands, and most others, ran out of juice long ago. Nocturnus, by contrast, feels more relevant than ever. Mike Browning’s decision to reform the band with some accomplished sidemen showed that he had something to prove. He was always the one who brought the aesthetic and thematic vision to the band (i.e., a mix of sci-fi cosmic horror and Lovecraftian evil). That vibe was best captured on their legendary debut ("The Key") before being lost on "Thresholds", then recaptured on the “Paradox” comeback album five years ago.

This makes “Unicursal'' an intriguing prospect. Let’s make two obvious statements first. (1) No, it isn't as good as "The Key". (2) Yes, it is better than "Thresholds”. This leads us to a third and more challenging question: how does it compare to "Paradox"? Well, I’ve listened to both albums side-by-side over the past couple of weeks. The earlier record might be stronger and more consistent, but this one is much more interesting, progressive and experimental. Here, Browning and his team are on a mission to embrace every facet of their death metal eccentricities. Perhaps they were emboldened by the recent upsurge in sci-fi themed death metal (e.g., Blood Incantation, Tomb Mold, etc.), and wanted to teach the young bands how it should be done.

OK, "The Ascension Throne of Osiris" is an underwhelming opening song. It isn't bad, but it is the blandest song here. It is also the fastest, so it was presumably placed first to raise energy levels before plunging the listener into darker and proggier territory. This song also shows a strange production quirk; the fast double-kick drums sound bizarre, almost divorced from the guitar. It feels like the riffs are carrying the drums rather than the other way around. This annoyed me at first but I warmed to it eventually, and it might even facilitate the 'spacey' atmosphere of Browning’s vision. I don’t know whether this was intentional, but it provides food for thought (Browning is a drummer after all, so would be more aware of these possibilities than most).

"CephaloGod" is much better, and would have made a more sensible choice for opening song. This embodies the classic proggy sounding version of Nocturnus we know and love. There is lots of tempo variation, creepy riffs, chugging, shredding solos and some old school catchiness. The keyboards are used to drive the melody as well as filling the atmosphere. Browning is not the most powerful of death metal vocalists, but his growls have plenty of character and he has a knack for storytelling and conjuring the imagination. Deeper into the album, the other big highlight is "Hod, the Stellar Light". At nine minutes, this is one of the longest and spaciest songs, with some awesome keyboard energy that reminds me of “Birds of Fire”-era Mahavishnu Orchestra. There is also a great Slayer-ish riff that builds the second half of the song (which is the best section on the entire album). This track feels like Nocturnus achieving their ultimate form.

At almost an hour in length, this album works best as a cohesive whole. A track like "Organism 46B" is a good example of a song that isn’t particularly impressive on its own, but carries the proggy momentum perfectly. Something like “Mesolithic” (notice a theme?) is as flawed as it is brilliant, with some ridiculous Wikipedia-esque lyrics (e.g., “Hunting and domestication had begun…the first use of pottery!"), alongside a great percussive intro and some fluid off-beat riffing. As with most Nocturnus material, the weaknesses are often also strengths. I guess Browning has always known that about his band, and the overall message of this album is one of strength, defiance and ambition. The result is something far better than most death metal bands can dream of achieving. "Unicursal" is an impressive feat from every angle and I doubt that the story of Nocturnus is over yet.