Review: Invictus ‘Nocturnal Visions’
In case you hadn’t noticed, the world of death metal is probably at its strongest place since the early 2010s, with the past three or four years being rife with bands and albums that would challenge even some of the genre’s founders for their skilful execution of the sound. But, as Japanese newcomers Invictus release their second full-length, they may find maintaining a prominent place in the scene is getting harder and harder, even after their excellent Catacombs Of Fear debut in 2020. That showed enough promise to keep me interested at least, and the latest salvo, Nocturnal Visions, is out now through Me Saco Un Ojo Records and Memento Mori.
After an eerie, scene-setting intro piece, we are immediately sent down into a hellish abyss of classic old school death metal, rippling with influences from Autopsy and early Carcass to Cannibal Corpse and Obituary. But Invictus use those kind of influences in much more interesting ways than a lot of modern death metal. Their bass is very prominent in the mix, lending everything a robust density, while the guitars are subtly technical, with touches of old Suffocation.
The atmospherics on the likes of Abyssal Earth Eradicates and Frozen Tomb provide nuanced melody and space for the death metal elements to breathe and have a sense of scale. I love the lead riff of Lucid Dream Trauma, which sounds like something Dave Mustaine would have kicked out in his prime, and it speaks to an underlying love of that original death metal sound that incorporated a lot of thrash, like Possessed, early Cannibal Corpse and very early Death.
a death metal record full of great songwriting, killer guitar work, brutal hooks and neck-wrecking riffs…
It is just another little thing that Invictus do that is endearing, drawing in other genres at times, but placing them as subservient to the overall death metal sound. It doesn’t stray too far, but it also keeps you guessing at times. Dragged Beneath The Grave has all the trappings of a modern old school death metal classic; the furious riffs, the rabid vocals, the incredibly memorable songwriting, it just oozes with a pitch-perfect vibe. Invictus just get it in a way that not everyone in this new crop of death metal bands does, and that closing title track is an eight-minute summation of all they have learned along the way.
When you are clearly a band who adores the classic pantheon of death metal gods the way they do, you are likely to be able to produce some quality music in tribute. But Nocturnal Visions somehow sounds like all of those bands, but also none of them in particular. That is the skill of Invictus, to take these elements of classic death metal but through some kind of modern alchemy, turn them into a death metal record full of great songwriting, killer guitar work, brutal hooks and neck-wrecking riffs. Nocturnal Visions will hopefully gain Invictus some well-earned traction in 2026.
Label: Me Saco Un Ojo Records | Memento Mori
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Sandy Williamson
