Nocturnus AD — Paradox
Like a modern take on an old classic, Paradox churns forth with all the joy and vigor of early 90's death metal, but arranged and produced crisply and cleanly like the 2019 release that it is. Browning's Morbid Angel influence/influence on is very apparent on Paradox, as many of the tracks feel very akin to the instrumentation on some of MA's earliest work. Like a longer tribute to "Chapel of Ghouls," Nocturnus AD's debut manages to tug at all one's nostalgic strings while still enlivening his or her pleasure with the current state of death metal. The synthesizers are an interesting addition to this progressive death metal work, and add a fun and mysterious depth that works very well with the album's subject matter. And that helps segue into the albums' weakest point, the very in your face, oft goofy lyrics. The vocals are on the cleaner, less harsh side, and vary between the classic, rough, 89/90 style and very clean, King Fowley-esque levels of understandability. While it works well with the music, it doesn't with the lyrics. More often than not, they play out like they were written by a thirteen year old that had just gotten his copy of the Necronomicon. And at other times, they feel like a slam poetry reading of a high school Western Civ report. Depending on one's reliance on lyrical content, this could be a breaking point, but other than some head shaking here and there, it doesn't really detract from the metal on hand.
Nocturnus AD's debut, Paradox, is full of paradoxes itself. It is both old and new, both serious and goofy, and both grim and bright. And, on the whole, these paradoxes work together to form an entertaining album, and one that will speak to a majority of metalheads out there. And, for all those Nocturnus fans that have waited nearly thirty years for the thematic follow-up to The Key, your time has come, so enjoy!