They Come at Night

After more than 2-3 pure doses of this album, I can't see how I could give it any more than a C-. The boon was that the songs lasted an average of about 5 minutes in length, but the music was nothing special. The guitar music contained some fast licks, but the originality lagged and the overall construction of the songs were a tad less than average. Most metalheads agree that the music is the most important factor in determining the quality of an album, not necessarily the lyrics. That I agree with remarkably.

The flat production plus the nagging snare drum alongside vocals that were mostly hoarse and deep-throated with occasional screams kind of were annoying. I couldn't get into this one no matter how hard I tried. Another boon were the leads, but with the mixing not well done, kind of raw, it didn't strike home with me. I suppose their whole concept was to build something that was heavy and somewhat fast, but the guitars weren't that special here and I don't see how they can achieve a higher rating than what I'm giving it.

Some of the guitars sounded like something I've heard from other bands, mainly demonstrating their influences. What are featured here are songs that are much like a thick tone with crunchy licks that don't really stand out. All 4 members of this band would've probably be ranked higher than mine if the production quality was better. If you could hear the guitars more fluidly, then it would've been a better album overall. However, it's tough nowadays to make a death metal album that has a sound quality with unknown bands.

The snare drum the whole way through was kind of what I thought to rather brainwrenching. But it is do with the average production and if the band had more income, maybe all instruments would've been done in justifiably. So yeah, the music just wasn't anything that stuck in my head. They just took on average riff ideas and turned them into 50+ minutes of boredom. The band has a bright future if they can make more honorable music. It was difficult to hear exactly what they were playing riff-wise. Heavy muting totally.

All in all, the music wasn't very strong and the vocals were kind of boring even though there were 2 members doing them. I'd say if they could've constructed more memorable riffs, then that would've made up for the lousy sound that the production emitted. The band has a bright future if they write songs that were more bearable, not just average, or a tad below average. You can possibly YouTube this album and see if you think the same way about this one. I would recommend holding off on purchasing this one, no flare really.

Let's be honest, the revivalist death metal movement has slowed down lately. Everyone loves their Incantations, Dismembers, Autopsies, and Bolt Throwers and subsequently their numerous descendants, but there's a bit of a problem with this. No, the bands that take after these graveyard giants aren't inherently bad (I enjoy a few myself), but the problem is that these bands only represented a particular subset of the early '90s and that is honestly more popular now than it was back then. Some connoisseurs of the style have also noticed there's a surprising lack of classic American death metal in the classic style. No, not Autopsy and Incantation, but where are the descendants of Deicide, Morbid Angel, Revenant, Necrovore, Insanity, Monstrosity, and D.V.C.? The classic American sound is notably absent in today's revivalist moment, but thankfully Nocturnal Torment (who have been around since 1989 as Termination and partially as Thanatopsis) are here to help change that.

Nocturnal Torment are best described as a mixture of Sadistic Intent and Exmortis. They have the vicious high-speed riffing of the latter, highly influenced by the Teutonic Terrors of Kreator, Destruction, and Sodom, but with the consistent buzzing drill of death metal to keep the raw barbarity check. From the former comes their more gradual, calculated approach to song construction that a deceptive underlying intelligence. The band build their song structures around cyclic chains of acerbic, gnashing riffs that build up momentum and tension before surging into the next iteration of a song's thematic core. Prominent melodies are torn out of these self-contained whirlwinds to provide contrast to rhythms as well as to smooth over transitions, emphasizing the most violent of internal motions and transitions without sounding much like classic Swedeath thankfully. The end result manages to retain a much higher degree of on-average intensity than more their more "atmospheric"/tremolo-heavy and doomier compatriots, but carefully regulated and elucidated in such a way that allows them to escape the uniform intensity of modern death metal.

While not particularly technical, the music is well performed and kept at a brisk charging pace. Rhythms vary over the classic early '90s death metal armory, utilizing flowing tremolo to modulate motion and momentum while crushing downstrokes punctuate moments of high-energy transitions or thundering conclusions. Lead guitar at times can be as prominent as classic heavy metal, but carefully lays in wait, striking out to accent a particular theme before quickly returning to the shadow of bulldozing riffs. Bass primarily shadows guitar while drumming storms forward with adept usage of rolls and fills almost reminiscent of more technical types death metal, at its most prominent when using the sparse breaks in momentum to unleash its full potential. Vocals are a dry mid-range howl, echoing out the primary intent of rhythms like an additional bass guitar. Capping things off is a crispy production job somewhat reminiscent of the Sunlight Studios sound.

Highly kinetic and filled to the brim with vicious flesh-tearing riffs, They Come at Night is a refreshing take on classic death metal that is surprisingly still rather uncommon. It captures the best parts of the transitional period of extreme thrash into early death metal, uniting bestial ferocity with an insidiously underlying consciousness behind its structure. Hopefully, this classic American sound will grow bigger in the years to come. For now, this band joins Ensnared, Undersave, Returner, Orator, and Coffin Texts as part of the small group of bands representing what was once perhaps the dominant sound of the classic era of death metal.

Despite "They Come At Night" being Nocturnal Torment's first full-length album, these guys aren't necessarily new to the metal scene. They were originally known as Termination, who only released a single demo before splitting up, but now they've returned and they have done so with a furor of epic proportions on this record. This isn't the thrashy material these guys were playing 20 years ago, but some wicked death metal that brings with it an extreme amount of chaos and destruction. The most accurate descriptions that I've seen/read about Nocturnal Torment would be the comparisons to Floridian death metal giants Deicide and Malevolent Creation, but that's not doing this band justice. While there are definitely similar aspects to the music, these guys are much more than some new death metal act trying to play exactly like two of the most well-known bands of the genre.

Along with the aforementioned comparisons, Nocturnal Torment is definitely a bit more savage than those bands. It would be like Deicide and Malevolent Creation had a violent and bloody orgy involving members of Nunslaughter, [Early] Morbid Angel and Sinister. The opening track "Vile Affliction" is pretty standard American death metal, but the next track "Alternative Reality" is where the band's true talents lie. These guys manage to successfully mix some bludgeoning, heavy riffs with the traditional death metal tremolo passages for some quality enjoyment, but that inner savage makes itself clear later on and the band seems to go off of their figurative tracks, so to speak. The tremolo sections later on are highly chaotic and almost reminiscent of some crazy Blasphemy or Conqueror type war metal act, but the music is still very concise and never comes off as spastic.

Probably the best quality about "They Come At Night" is the songwriting. Nocturnal Torment isn't content with writing songs that range between 3 and 4 minutes, instead delivering some mighty fine tracks that clock in at over five to six minutes. A lot of bands (these days, especially) try to come off as mature or musically adept by writing longer material but they simply don't have the ability to keep the listener interested for that amount of time, but these gentlemen provide enough dynamics on every track to keep the listener interested. Whether it's haunting tremolo passages ("Bleeding"), incredibly heavy and catchy riffs ("Sweet Decay") or just an all around brilliant piece of music with everything you could ask for ("Alternative Reality"), Nocturnal Torment gets the job done, and they do very well.

There isn't anything negative that I can bring myself to say about this record or the band. "They Come At Night" is great from beginning to end and chances are this album will be one that sees steady rotation throughout the year, as well as make plenty of year-end lists. Incantation clones, Dismember worshipers, and Autopsy knockoffs had better beware, because Nocturnal Torment is exactly the kind of band that could put you all on the back shelf.

Highlights
"Alternative Reality"
"Cycle of Life"
"Sweet Decay"

Originally written for Skull Fracturing Metal Zine.
http://skullfracturingmetal.blogspot.com

Nocturnal Torment are a four-piece death metal band from the United States that follow suit to the recurring American death metal sound but, having previously been a thrash metal band named Termination, intersperse short bursts of a slight thrash influence throughout. That’s not to say that said thrash influence is very prevalent in this album either, because what dominates "They Come at Night" is an assault of finely formulated old-school death metal paying tribute and adding to what former death metal masters have done.

The vicious attack of heavy death metal that resides in “They Come at Night” is resulted primarily from the grating guitars that penetrate the overall sound, being low and threatening. Tremolo-picking a la Malevolent Creation is frequently heard throughout, and this often gives way to slower, heavier passages that are dominated by more rhythmic and lower guitar riffs. This album undergoes constant changes in regards to different riffs and patterns, and these will surprise you once they come around. An example of this is at 2:57 in “They Come at Night,” where the bass is left alone to give a prologue for the subsequent riff, which, in fact, is dangerously catchy and headbang-inducing. And, sure enough, another change of pace is seen soon after this riff ends. There is not much use of melody or guitar solos on this record, but this does in no way detract from the quality of the album, as there is not much need for them. Thrash riffs are used scarcely, but they are seen throughout, and are often accompanied by a thumping d-beat being played on the drums, adding to the intensity of the guitars. This can be seen at around the middle of the song “Bleeding,” where a crusty thrash riff is played.

While the guitars pummel on in the foreground, other aspects of this album are sure to impress and deserve to be praised as well. Firstly, the vocals. The vocals on They Come at Night are very akin to early Hypocrisy, ranging from low to high gutturals that pierce the air. In addition, they have a tendency to utter out quick vocal segments. The drumming is neither remarkable nor trite, but it is noteworthy. It’s in no way boring, and along with the repeated use of thrash beats, a blast beat is seen now and then. The use of fills is also frequent, being hardly every the same, and they aid in transitioning into different phases of songs smoothly.

Definitely a must for fans of American death metal. Hell, for fans of any style of old-school death metal. They pull off an old-school sound while at the same time not completely ripping off their predecessors, and the songwriting, often resulting in long songs, will more than certainly keep listeners entertained as they are surprised by different riffs at every turn. Straightforward, pounding death metal that’s bound to be sought out by metalheads the world over once they are noticed in the scene; and rightly so.

-SmithMetal84
Originally written for http://ravenousreviewswebzine.blogspot.com

An evolution bridging two decades of absence, Indiana's Nocturnal Torment once took the form an obscure Midwest thrash act called Termination. From there they parted ways, spent about 20 years performing in other projects (the best known of which is likely the war metal battalion Invasion) and now renew their collaboration with a sound decidedly more brutal. It would come as no surprise if you've experienced Invasion records like Berserk Artillery Barrage and Orchestrated Kill Maneuver that these guys are heavily on the old school revival, but it's to their credit that They Come At Night is not just the latest in a string of Incantation knockoffs or Swedish throwbacks aimed at 1992. No, Nocturnal Torment draws upon a wider foundation, and thus their debut overcomes the 'fun but it's been done' classification thanks to the strong dynamics at play.

I'm hearing a lot of Floridian inspiration circa Malevolent Creation, Deicide and other usual suspects, but more interestingly a strong Dutch connection to the formative sounds of Sinister and Pestilence circa Diabolical Summoning, Crossing the Styx, and Consuming Impulse. This manifests not only in the constant, percussive pulverization of the rhythm guitars but also their tendency to rip out these excellent dual surgical lead guitars like the great tremolo sequence in "Forever Eternal Darkness" or that haunting note progression that permeates "Cycle of Life". Where a lot of similarly motivated bands falter in slugging out one familiar riff after another, the nocturnal tormentors ensure that there's always something tantalizing that awaits within the bridge and lead sequences of the songs, and thus it's nigh impossible that any of the material here could ever become boring. Couple this with resonant, brute cookie monster gutturals that evoke a hybrid of early 90s Barney Greenway and Glen Benton's lower register, and a rhythm section who perform with both the technique of Suffocation and the blunt consistency of England's Benediction during their heydays...

...and you've got yourself an irresistible neck breaking formula. However, it's important to note that Nocturnal Torment never seems to be merely paying tribute to the record collections of its constituents. There is more at work on this record than simple nostalgia, and the songwriting hurls itself straight for the jugular with a corpulent, domineering guitar tone that feels as rabid as the old Sunlight sound without coming close to aping it. A lot of the lower strong rhythm riffs draw upon their thrash roots, and some fairly close to the crushing battlefield fortifications that dote the Invasion discography, but in general they never sound 100% like any one other artist. With its dark, unruly production and acrobatic, practiced level of aggression and ability, They Come at Night should see many happy returns for these long-timers. It's not perfect, and not all the riffs or vocal patterns hang forever upon the scaffold of the mind and imagination, but I think it should very well please fans of the latest records from Godless Rising, Abominant, Blaspherian, and the simpler Cianide; or, really, any of the influences I name dropped above.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com