This is the second album from Japanese death metallers Invictus.
Delivering 35 minutes of old-school death metal devastation, Nocturnal Visions arrives with the impact of a meteor. Invictus are not messing around. Apart from the seemingly mandatory pointless intro, there’s no filler here; Nocturnal Visions is a deathdealing killing machine with an arsenal of riffs.
Invictus play largely mid-paced old-school death metal that doesn’t sound stale. It takes elements of everything from Cannibal Corpse to Death to Grave to Immolation to Malevolent Creation and more, fusing them into a death metal monstrosity that’s a constant barrage of riffs, riffs, riffs. Invictus worship the riff, and have chosen to do so via the medium of death metal. It is good for us that they have decided to follow this course of action, as Nocturnal Visions is a killer record.
These songs are brutal, but memorable and filed with hooks. The album boasts a strong, meaty production that allows the songs to hit hard; Nocturnal Visions sounds like it has been sculpted from planet-sized granite boulders that are being rubbed against each other. Well-rounded, both from a sonic and a songwriting perspective, this is a record of classic death metal muscular destruction that obliterates the spot.
Ultimately, this is a fun, well-crafted, reassuringly riff-driven slab of classic death metal heaviness. If the style is one that appeals, then you won’t want to miss what Invictus have unleashed on their new album.
Very highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 