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It's pretty funny to me that so many bands that were deemed "gay" and
"stupid" by so many people 10 years ago are now thought of as "revolutionary" albums
today. This is absolutely no slight to these bands, many of whom were incredibly
cutting edge for the time, but rather one towards the fickle listeners. How many
bands this year will be neglected and shelved for a decade? Probably nothing
will be done, but with all of the re-releases from bands such as Celtic Frost (Into
the Pandemonium), Dead Horse and Anacrusis (Screams and Whispers), maybe we can
avoid the same mistakes, as then we can appreciate the artists before their records
become out of print and unfindable. Well, at least Nocturnus have managed to reform
and provide us with a new album, one that manages to live up to all anticipations (for
me) and exist as one of the most listened to albums of the last month for me. That might
not sound like a big deal, but I have so much stuff to hear, that it has become
somewhat important in my mind when a disc is embedded in my player, sitting comfortably
there for days at a stretch. In thinking about why this is, I can't really explain the
reason for my liking this Nocturnus so much. Maybe it's just due to it's understated
technicality. An oxymoron usually, I know, but as progressive and complicated as this
gets, it all flows straight through, weaving all insruments together into a cohesive
attack which does sound more like a future/past meeting than anything else. The
scifi themes blend well here, and I hear a lot
of Rush in the structures, as well as other rock/fusion inputs to the
standard metal paradigm, but
as I've said before, it works without being too busy. This isn't going to be for all
tastes, but if you've found yourself in the past passing over albums which seemed
too "experimental" only to hear too late about their greatness, don't ignore Ethereal
Tomb, I think you'll regret it.
8 1/2 out of 10
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