Bears like sweet food. It gives them sugar, but since their form of sweets usually comes as berries, some vitamins come along as well. This bear’s favorite sweet snack is death metal. It gives me the D, I mean Vitamin D, as well as some solid sugar high. And if the prospect of dessert is some grimy Japanese death metal I am willing to begrudgingly leave my den.
Invictus promise a sizable dose of death metal, especially because their 2024 demo Tagakushi Ritual was quite good. Immediately upon hitting the play button, I am happy, audible bass! Nocturnal Visions start exactly how I like my brain dead metal – with sick groove and some caveman riffs. For most people this kind of death metal might sound kinda bland or hazy. There is no instrumental show, no complicated fiddling about with the music. Invictus get straight to the point, similarly to Morbific‘s last year’s album. There is less Autopsy in this, instead I hear more of Morbid Angel‘s Domination.
I definitely can get on board with this album. It obviously doesn’t break any new grounds in the genre, it builds on proven formulas and the result is a sturdy slab of infectious, unga-bunga death metal. There are slower parts, which would benefit from a more filthier sound, however it works perfectly for the more energetic sections that Invictus like to spend their time in. The tracks flow nicely after each other and you know you are having a good time. The Japanese trio are on equal parts when it comes to their instruments and none of them is trying to steal the spotlight.
It would be unfair to Invictus to label them as another “homage” band. They add enough of their own sound and spirit into the music to make it their own. At times, the album balances on the edge between OSDM and death/doom, only to be kidnapped by hard-hitting thrash riffs. Overall the album is rather mid-paced and the band balances that out with solid riffs, but far too often the writing seems a bit lost in the process. Luckily for them, they managed to keep the length to a bearable (bad pun intended) 35-ish minutes. Nocturnal Visions is a good album, but ultimately it doesn’t bring much to the table. It’s fun and solid death metal, but unfortunately a bit on the forgettable side of things.
