Band: Noctiferia
Title: DeathCulture
Label: Listenable Records
Distribution: Rough Trade
Release date: March 26th 2010
Review: CD

The Slovenian band Noctiferia was formed in 1992 under the moniker of Emetica, yet in 1995 they changed it into the current one. After several demos and a live album (Eternal Blasphemy, 1997, via Erotica Promotions), the band, at that moment still with vocalist Varg Gorgoneion (aka David Kiselic; of Magus Noctum and Perun-fame), recorded a first studio full length, Baptism At Savica Fall, which brought a mixture of symphonic Black and Death Metal.
Per Aspera (Arctic Music, 2002) went on in that vein, even though there were some evident differences between both albums, yet as from the 2006-release Slovenska Morbida (Master Of Metal; re-released in 2008 through Danse Macabre, including three bonus tracks), the style changed a lot.
And this new direction continues on DeathCulture, which was mixed at the famous Abyss Studio (Hypocrisy, Immortal, Amon Amarth, Dimmu Borgir, Devian and many others) with Peter Tägtgren, and mastered at Black Lounge Studio (Zonaria, Immortal, In Mourning etc) by Jonas Kjellgren.
The ‘roots’, i.e. Death and Black Metal, still are of huge importance, yet the accentuation is concentrated on a mechanical, industrialised approach. Every single track bulks of pounding yet technical riffs and rhythms, rather colossal and massive, and the overall tempo is pretty fast and intense. However, sometimes it all slows down, yet without ever giving in.
The combination of this industrial approach, and the overpowering extremity in sound and performance, isn’t that renewing at all, yet the average quality is high. The compositions aren’t ‘flat’, nor stupidly noisy (both sickening diseases that happen to bands that evolve into an industrialised direction), and DeathCulture might please every fan of, for example, Zyklon, Strommoussheld, Thorns or Myrkskog.
Total running time: forty nine minutes.

83/100

Ivan Tibos.