Through a wall of wailing souls flapping spectral fumes into the distance with bat wings Yogyakarta, Indonesia-based dark death metal quartet NOKTURNAL follow the growling hiss of the night as the cold dark-side throws its shroud meter after meter, consuming all. Gloriously dramatic in presentation and impeccably arranged for maximum dark-melodic allure the band’s debut full-length album, ‘Shades of Night‘, realizes an infectious admirably realized vision in patiently stalking reveal. In conjure of horrifying dread by way of energetic bursts of delirium the finesse with which these folks are able to trample the listener already feels well beyond their years as they present this well formed debut statement as one of the finest debuts and altogether most unexpected records to hit so far this year.

Nokturnal formed circa 2018 as a new point of ingress by way of former members of Nocturnal Kudeta, a somewhat brutal band with some technical flair to their work. The key member mentioned in the press materials is Wolfsbane (Devoured), whom you might recall was the session drummer for Exhumation‘s (Idn) recent fourth album record, and the suggestion is that the three other members include folks from those related bands. What eventually became this incarnation of the band transformed their sound entirely for their second release, an EP (‘Orphic Soul‘, 2017) which provides some direct context for the direction taken by this new formation of the band. The main context you might gain from that EP is its use of atmospheric transitions which escalate in their melodic phrasing in a familiar way, but of course by comparison ‘Shades of Night‘ is not as harried and concerned with immediate brutality so much as it emphasizes the loosened, dreamlike drift of said style. If you directly compare the thrash metal inspired riffs of “Lost” on that EP with the similarly struck attack of certain movements on “Blood and Valour” here on this album you’ll begin to see the provenance that’d already been at work in terms of Nokturnal‘s oeuvre being carefully developed over time.

The main point of interest in approach of Nokturnal‘s efforts here is their take on what is otherwise best observed as Swedish dark metal of the post-2010’s variety where the post-punk and heavy rock inspired death metal of certain transformative Morbus Chron, Stench and Tribulation albums (also: In Solitude, to some degree) and their sprawling influence the world over beyond 2011 or so. Galloping run-on beats create boundless planar momentum, vocalizations shouted into the echoing cold distance create theatric existential distress, and the dance of it all plods and oozes of a newer-found form of dark metallic/atmospheric death metal in romanticist commune with the utter dark. This is of course a guideline for recognizing the pedigree of this band’s intent, which occasionally veers into a blackened direction a la Venenum or Temisto, as we can feel that inspiration resonating in the tone and temperament of this record as often as we find them reaching for the more restful and rocking allure of more recent breakthroughs via labelmates Speglas and the associated Sweven (see: “Bewail the Fallen Light”, “Blood and Valour”.)

While it makes sense to guide folks toward those previously suggested sources of inspiration it wouldn’t be fair to take that point in as a full-on shortcut beyond the nuance of Nokturnal‘s efforts, which do appear to be earnest in their exploration of a haunted, dark poetic soul and a character obsessed with morbidity. There is an appropriate amount of patient theater to this relatively short experience wherein its ~six and a half minute introduction (“Bewail the Fallen Light”) builds tension as much as it allows the mind to sink in and begin to drift within the landscape offered by ‘Shades of Night‘. As we go on rolling out of the coffin and striking at the more feral narration of “Dagger of Will” it is only a matter of time before the swinging and veering stretches of thrashed-at riffs begin to reveals themselves beneath what I’d consider an earlier Necrophobic-esque use of lead guitars to develop sinister melody within the first two thirds of the song. Rather than rip a hot solo and fade out the song takes a darker lunge into its final third, eventually reaching a point of punkish reprisal and a second lead which helps the song justify its pole position as a major point of interest on the full listen.

‘Shades of Night‘ is at its most immersive in passage from the delayed climax of “Dagger of Will” through the stamping whorl of “Chainless Soul” with its chunked-into thrashing introduction and fluidly slinking movements within the first several verses. This is where I’d felt the songwriter was most ‘on a roll’ in terms of flowing through the experience uninterrupted while introducing quite a few worthy riffs in the process as declarative vocals shout horror from beyond, eventually floating into stretches of ringing arpeggiated drift and another skillful change of direction in the final third of the song. The finesse of Nokturnal’s arrangements are the main feature here to start but as I’d returned to ‘Shades of Night‘ for repeated listens this was the song that’d felt most key in developing the greater expression of the band. At that point we’ve also gotten a sense of song structure repeating in slight variation to start while each song presents a float from scene-to-scene.

“By the Nightside” begins reaching for violence at its outset presenting one of the more wrathful death metal focused songs to start, an introduction which feels overtly Swedish with its wah-pedal swiped accompaniment, before a haunted corridor of screams develops beyond its midpoint. This is not the first piece on the album to invoke the feeling of a band like Morbus Chron but it is maybe the song to confirm this sensation head-on while also working in some thrash metal riffs to keep the ear working through a certain pace of ideas. Needless to say I am a huge fan of this style and all of its permutations, so, I’d been won over by this record well before the first rip through its ~41 minute stretch had completed; The grand finale of the experience is most key as the aforementioned “Blood and Valour” recaps and expands upon the haunted landscape presented thus far, a nine minute grand finale which reaffirms the identity of Nokturnal in meaningful conglomeration and the most dramatic final turn taken yet which fans of ‘The Eternal Resonance‘ will appreciate; The full listen is then capped off by a cover of Sam Gopal‘s “Cold Embrace” a piece which reinforces the gloom-ridden classic heavy rock/metal spirit at the heart of their work while rethinking the pace of the song toward a NWOBHM-level stride before a dark ambient gate-hinge grinding whirr finishes the album.

As a first impression from a relatively unknown band in development over the course of about six years ‘Shades of Night’ is impeccably presented, not only for the sake of the eye-thrilling morbidity of the cover artwork from Bayu Mors but for the necessity of each piece and its well-considered placement. While we might be able to parse their major points of inspiration at a glance Nokturnal‘s consideration for overall quality of statement, flow of ideas and the engaging atmosphere enacted is far above average. The high bar set for vision and the greater ride experience offers a highly entertaining feat, though some expansion of their general song structures could take their approach to a different and even more personalized realm. That said, this was a perfectly indulgent first impression for my own tastes, digestible but loaded with character, the right way to introduce an unfamiliar entity to the unthinking masses. A high recommendation.

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