UMUR "Thresholds" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, Florida based progressive death metal act Nocturnus. The album was released through Earache Records in December 1992. There´s been a few changes to the lineup since the release of the debut album "The Key (1990)". Bassist Jeff Estes was asked to leave alledgedly because of problems with alcohol abuse and in addition to that Earache Records put pressure on Nocturnus to find a "real" frontman. Up until then drummer Mike Browning had also taken care of the vocals. Alledgedly Earache Records promised Nocturnus that they would sponsor a promotional video for one of the songs from "Thresholds" if Mike Browning would step down from his vocal duties (they ended up making a video for "Alter Reality"). Apparently the record company felt that the drummer/vocalist constallation was a problem. Therefore former Tortured Souls vocalist Dan Izzo was brought in for the recording of "Thresholds". New bassist on the album is Chris Anderson. The ususal suspects are guitarists Mike Davis and Sean McNenney, keyboard player Louis Panzer and drummer Mike Browning.

Curiously enough the lineup changes haven´t affected Nocturnus sound notably. New vocalist Dan Izzo could easily have been mistaken for Mike Browning (which I initially did), and to be honest the bass isn´t that audible so the change of bassist doesn´t mean much to the sound either.

The music on the album is a continuation but also a progression from the semi-progressive death metal sound of "The Key". While "The Key" was split between old school occult themed death metal and progressive/futuristic sounding sci-fi themed death metal, "Thresholds" takes the band fully into the sci-fi themed progressive direction. "Thresholds" is without a doubt Nocturnus most progressive album. The shift in style would leave some members unsatisfied and the disagreements over musical direction would have disastrous consequences for the band, but more on that later. The music on "Thresholds" is quite unique death metal and the addition of a permanent keyboard player in the lineup really gave Nocturnus their own sound back in the early nineties. The opening track "Climate Controller" pretty much sums up all that´s interesting about the album. The multible rythm changes, heavy and fast riffing (pretty melodic at times), loads of screaming shredding guitar solos, atmospheric keyboards, growling vocals and those sci-fi themed lyrics. The album is overall much more melodically and compositionally sophisticated than "The Key". Take it with a grain of salt though as "Thresholds" is still at it´s core old school US death metal. The band experiment more than enough to be considered progressive though. Some of the transitions and odd time signature parts might seem a bit abrupt and primitive by today´s standards but back then Nocturnus were considered a very technical act. And talking about technical skill that´s certainly one of the assets of this album too. Those guitar solos are just killer IMO. They come out of nowhere and demand attention. The tasteful use of keyboards on the album really enhance the sound and I´m pleased that they took this approach instead of plastering their sound in synth layers.

The sound quality on the album is a bit of a disappointment. It´s too muddy and lacks a bit of power if you ask me. The sound production on the debut was much better.

After the release of "Thresholds" the band went on a succesful European tour. When they returned home the above mentioned disagreements over musical style meant that Mike Browning was fired from the band. Not before Louis Panzer, Sean McNenney and Mike Davis had ensured the rights to the Nocturnus name behind Mike Browning´s back though. Needless to say that this manuevre created lots of animosity between Mike Browning and the rest of the band. Nocturnus would continue a couple of years without Mike Browning before disbanding but this was the end of the classic Nocturnus lineup. "Thresholds" stands as a testament to the creative and progressive ideas within Nocturnus and while I generally enjoy "The Key" sligthly more than I enjoy "Thresholds", the latter should probably be considered the band´s crowning achivement. Especially seen from a progressive point of view. "Thresholds" is definitely not a flawless album but it´s got charm and loads of innovative ideas and a 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved. A truly unique and classic Tech/ Extreme Prog Metal album.

UMUR "The Key" is the debut full-length studio album US, Florida based semi-progressive death metal act Nocturnus. The album was released through Earache Records in August 1990. The only change in the lineup since the "The Science of Horror (1988)" demo tape is that guitarist Gino Marino has been replaced by Sean McNenney. The original LP release featured 9 tracks while the CD version of the album features the song "Undead Journey" as a bonus track. While the new addition of keyboards/ synth on the "The Science of Horror" demo really gave Nocturnus a unique sound on the Florida death metal scene, it was with "The Key" that the band really put themselves on the map.

All four tracks from the demo are featured here in re-worked versions but they are all quite excellent material and it´s not audible which tracks are older demo tracks and which that are new. The lyrics are a mix of occult themes and the trademark sci-fi lyrics that Nocturnus are mostly known for. The album is actually a concept album with a pretty bizarre story. It´s about a cyborg that travels back in time to the year 0 BC and this brings upon the destruction of christianity and the creation of a modern empire.

The music on the album is semi-progressive death metal rooted in old school US death metal similar in style to an act like Morbid Angel. Nocturnus are s bit different from the rest of the late eighties/early nineties US death metal scene though as they have a keyboard player in the lineup. Keyboards don´t automatically mean that you´re a progressive artist but Nocturnus have quite a few other interesting qualities that make them progressive to my ears (their next release "Thresholds (1992)" is more progressive than "The Key" though). They experiment with song structures and tempo and time signature changes too and those things combined with the keyboards result in this album being progressive to my ears. I consider "The Key" one of the most groundbreaking proto-progressive death metal albums and bands like Pestilence, Sadist and Theory in Practice owe a lot to Nocturnus. The vocals featured on the album are raspy growls and in addition to that there are no shortage of crushingly heavy riffs, fast tremolo picking and screaming shredding guitar solos in addition to the spacy and eerie keyboard sounds featured on the album. Tracks like "Lake of Fire", "Standing in Blood" and the closing track, and perhaps most progressive track on the album "Empire of the Sands", are excellent examples of why "The Key" is such a great album. Don´t expect tech death metal on the virtuosic level of Atheist or Cynic though, this is much more old school but still very innovative and well-played.

There are few weakneses on the album, but if I have to mention a weak link it would be drummer/lead vocalist Mike Browning. His vocal style isn´t the most powerful one I´ve heard and his staccato delivery is a bit one-dimensional. His drumming isn´t the most inventive either but despite my issues with his skills he gets the job done without distracting too much in the big picture.

I really enjoy the raw production by Tom Morris. The album was recorded in the now legendary Morrisound Studio in Temple Terrace, Florida, and allthough later death metal productions from that studio are more well-sounding and brutal I enjoy this one greatly too. BTW take a look at the beautiful cover artwork by Dan Seagrave. One of his most classic cover artworks IMO.

I´ve owned the LP version of "The Key" for years, but it never really caught on and it´s only recently that it really clicked with me and I finally understood how influential this album really was and still is (and of course also how great it is). It´s been a real eye-opening experience listening to "The Key" again and a great pleasure too. "The Key" fully deserves a 4 star (80%) rating in my book.

UMUR Nocturnus is a 2-track, 10:33 minute long EP release by American progressive death metal act Nocturnus. The EP was released in 1993 by Moribund Records. The EP was originally released on 7´inch vinyl, but was re-released as a CD single in 2001. The Nocturnus EP was the last release by Nocturnus before they split-up the first time. Nocturnus had enjoyed great success with their two full-length studio albums The Key (1990) and Thresholds (1992) but internal turmoil within the ranks of the band meant that guitarists Mike Davis and Sean McNenney and keyboard player Louis Panzer went behind the back of drummer and founding member Mike Browning, and secured the rights to the Nocturnus name. Shortly after Mike Browning was fired from the band he had help to found. Mike Browning´s fascination with the occult supposedly didn´t fit well with the sci-fi theme that the rest of the band were aiming at.

That explanation is a bit hard to understand if you listen to the two songs on this EP though. Both Possess The Priest and Mummified are pretty old school death metal styled albeit a bit more progressive with the addition of keyboards and some technical playing. The songs also feature some pretty old school death metal lyrics. The sci-fi themes from the full-length albums are gone. While the songs are certainly well played, I can´t help but notice that the band sound a bit tired. The two songs are not that interesting either. At least compared to the brilliant material on the two full-length albums. The production is a bit sub par too.

The Nocturnus EP is not a release that makes my blood boil. Rather it´s a release that shows the end of an era for one of the most unique death metal bands from the late eighties/ early nineties. I´m inclined to call this EP a fan release only but still I think a 2.5 star rating is deserved.

UMUR The Nocturnus Demos is a compilation album released in 2004 by American, Florida based progressive death metal act Nocturnus. The compilation contains Nocturnus two demo tapes from 1987 and 1988 respectively. Both the Nocturnus (1987) and the The Science of Horror (1988) demos had only been available on cassette tape until the release of this compilation. As a curiosity the songs from the second demo appear first on the compilation while the songs from the first demo is placed last. If we´re talking about quality that´s a wise choice as the quality is much better on the The Science of Horror demo. I prefer a chronological track order though and find it a minor weakness about the compilation that it isn´t so. The music on the first four tracks ( from the second demo) are old school US death metal with progressive elements while the tracks from the first demo are raw and primitive old school US death metal.

The Nocturnus Demos is only a fan release and even fans of the band might not want to use their life savings here. A 1.5 - 2 star rating is warranted.

UMUR The Science of Horror is the second demo cassette tape released in 1988 by American, Florida based progressive death metal act Nocturnus. Only drummer/ lead vocalist Mike Browning and guitarist Gino Marino are left from the lineup that recorded the first demo tape. New in the lineup on The Science of Horror are Mike Davis on guitars, Jeff Estes on bass and Louis Panzer on keyboards. The latter would have a great effect on the future sound of Nocturnus.

While the music on the Nocturnus demo was raw and rather primitive eighties US death metal, the style has changed a bit on The Science of Horror. The basis is still old school US death metal but the level of sophistication in the music and the addition of keyboards really gave Nocturnus quite an original sound back in those days. The lyrics were at this point still about the occult. The sci-fi lyrics would first appear on the debut full- length studio album The Key (1990). All four songs from this demo would be featured on the debut album. Undead Journey only on the CD version of the debut though.

While the level of sophistication is much higher than on the first demo, the music is still rather primitive and the production is just a notch better than on the first demo. This means that The Science of Horror is a marginally better release than Nocturnus, but still only a fan release. 2 stars are warranted.