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Customer Reviews of Key

Jaw dropping.
It's funny how the littlest things can easily lead to something big. All it took was a picture of Trey Azagthoth wearing a Nocturnus t-shirt inside Morbid Angel's "Gateways to Annihilation" to spark my interest in this band. I'm always on the lookout for new bands, and seeing how Trey is one of my favorite guitarists of all time and Gateways is one of my favorite albums of all time, I definately decided to check them out. And wow, I'm glad I did.

After reading up on the band a little bit I realized that they were revolutionary in that they were one of, if not THE first death metal band to incorporate keyboards to a main part of their sound. What also made them stand out were their lyrical themes, which were more space and sci-fi focused rather than the outright satanism/gore found in most early DM bands (although "The Key" has its share of that too, just in far less amounts and in a sci-fi way). All of this seemed interesting, but I wasn't expecting to be impressed by them musically. I was expecting just plain typical death metal with keyboards backing it up. But I was happily surprised when "Lake of Fire" came on.... the keyboards were used very well to add a cosmic feel to the album, the riffs were great, the production was excellent (except for one little problem, its hard to hear the bass drums and as a result the drumming sounds worse than it actually is), and it just had that awesome "old-school DM" feel to it.

What really took me by surprise, however, was the incredible guitar playing. Guitarists Mike Davis and Sean McNenney shred non-stop throughout the album. The guitar solos are amazing, and guess what? They are all over the place. Ive never heard a death metal album with so many guitar solos.... these guys are insane. This is some good guitar playing, anyone who likes great guitar playing should hear this album.

This album was released in 1991 and bestowed with great critical response when it came out, and it sold 50,000 copies, and excellent number especially for a debut. Their high status in the DM scene should have been secure, but unfortunately soon after their excellent 2nd album "Thresholds", the band broke up and they were pretty much forgotten about, ultimately never gaining the amount of respect they deserved. They reformed in 2000 however, and realeased Ethereal Tomb (which I have yet to hear), but unfortunately they broke up yet again. This time for good.

"The Key" is essential classic death metal. Because of their very early breakup, they aren't as well known as they should be, but if you are a fan of DM and especially old school DM, or awesome guitar playing as well, you should check this album out immediately.

Standout tracks: Lake of Fire, Standing in Blood, Andromeda Strain

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The Key (the title is wrong)
How do you like your Satanism? Half-baked and cartoon-ish, like Slayer? Space cadet style, praising the Ancient Ones like Morbid Angel? Perhaps you prefer the straight-for-the-throat style of Glen Benton and Deicide. Well guess what? You can get all three in one nice, neat little package. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you 'The Key'.

But then, how do you like your Death Metal? Well, if you are a Morbid Angel fan and you do not have this, track it down immediately. It is like listening to Morbid Angel on a Walkman while riding a roller coaster. Before Nocturnus, drummer/vocalist Mike Browning was a member of Morbid Angel, and is at least as deranged as Trey Azagthoth, if not more so, but more of that later. As a drummer, he rivals Pete Sandoval for technicality, speed and brutality. However, Nocturnus live would have been interesting, because it is hard to believe Browning could keep up the tempo and sing at the same time.

Nocturnus were considered revolutionary at the time this album was recorded. Aside from being one of the heaviest and most technical bands around, they added keyboards to their musical typhoon. While such a thing may seem trivial now, it was big news in 1990. Louis Panzer's keyboards added a space rock/sci-fi feel to the technical death blasts. While Death Metal bands had used keyboards in the studio before, Nocturnus was first to make them an integral part of the band. "BC/AD" and "Droid Sector" made good use of effects in their introductions, but the standout track, as far as keyboards go, is "Lake Of Fire". A UFO-type oscillating wail underpins the entire song, with drums and guitars playing off and weaving around it.

If that sounds like your cup of tea, just hold off for a moment. Do you think you can handle the warped world of Mike Browning's lyrics? The main reason for this band not hitting the Death Metal big time was the subject matter of the songs. And here are the shades of Satanism. First, Slayer: "Destroying The Manger" is all about destroying Christ as a child, by um... building a time machine, and zapping back to 0 A.D. "Droid Sector" is equally as adolescent. Shades of Morbid Angel? "Empire Of The Sands" and "Lake Of Fire" have a Sumerian feel to them, and touch on elemental themes. And "BC/AD", "Visions From Beyond The Grave" and "Standing In Blood" are straight from the Deicide school of eviler-than-thou theology.

Unfortunately, this band lost it in a big way. Instead of maturing, the next album 'Thresholds' was even sillier thematically, which even the semi-revolutionary ultra-technical approach to Death Metal could not compensate for. 'The Key' could almost be considered in the league of 'Altars Of Madness', but instead of a launching point for a strong career, it was a high point before obscurity.

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This is the Nocturnus we know and love!
Brutal all the way to the end......this is the way Nocturnus should sound...this falls into the classic Death Metal ordinance...with fast drums and killer riffs and even some good use of keyboards this album has it all....and should fit very properly into any Death head's collection. Classic absolutely classic!